Barry Callebaut has named Natasha Chen president of its North American division, effective Sept. 16. She will succeed Ben De Schryver, who will leave Barry Callebaut to “pursue other opportunities,” the company said.
In her new role, Chen will manage the company’s North American business in the United States, Mexico and Canada. She will report directly to chief executive officer Peter Feld and will join the company’s extended leadership team.
Chen brings extensive US and international leadership experience in both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) environments to Barry Callebaut, the company said. She previously led the global health care division at water purification company Ecolab, Inc. Chen also spent more than two decades at Colgate-Palmolive Co., where she held multiple business management and marketing positions across three regions and various geographies.
Chen received a master of business administration degree from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University.
“We are delighted to welcome Natasha to Barry Callebaut,” Feld said. “She is a skilled international leader with a deep understanding of the North American market, digitalization and sustainability, which will be instrumental for us to create a more impactful service for our North American customers. With her extensive experience in taking customer focus to the next level and transforming businesses, Natasha will be invaluable as we strive to create the best chocolate solutions and services for our customers.”
By Zachary Sosland
Source: foodbusinessnews.net
Ferrero North America has opened its new Kinder Bueno production facility in Bloomington, Illinois, US. The expansion, which is the result of a $214 million investment, was first announced in November 2022 and has created around 200 new jobs and is set to drive Ferrero’s market expansion.
Chiquita Brands – in collaboration with KeyGene, MusaRadix and Wageningen University and Research – has unveiled a new banana hybrid named ‘Yelloway One’. This variety is engineered to resist Tropical Race 4 (TR4) and show partial resistance to Black Sigatoka, two fungal diseases that pose severe threats to global banana production.
PepsiCo is planning to acquire packaged food business Siete Foods in a US$1.2 billion deal to “bring a rich, new aspect” to its portfolio. The move will add Mexican-American foods like tortillas, salsas, seasonings, sauces, cookies and snacks to PepsiCo’s range of products.
