He will succeed Hein Schumacher, who has been named the chief executive of Unilever and will leave FrieslandCampina on 1 May 2023.
Sybren Attema, chairperson of the supervisory board of Royal FrieslandCampina N.V. said, “Jan Derck is a business leader with an excellent track record of delivering growth across multiple businesses, in the Netherlands and internationally, in both business-to-consumer and business-to-business settings.
“He is a seasoned consumer goods executive with a strong focus on value creation for the company and its owners, always with a keen eye for the interests of all stakeholders.”
Jan Derck van Karnebeek
Currently, van Karnebeek serves as the chief executive officer of GreenV, the international operating group of companies active in the horticultural sector, which is a portfolio company of HAL Investments.
He is a Heineken veteran and has spent a major part of his career with the brewer in commercial, marketing and general management positions in the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Austria.
From 2015 until 2021, he was the chief commercial officer and member of the executive team at the brewer’s international head office in Amsterdam.
Attema added, “Jan Derck believes in doing business with a purpose in which people, planet and profit are key elements. He is known as a team player who sets the bar high for himself and others while creating an environment of trust, confidence and accountability.”
‘A Modern Consumer Goods Company’
Commenting on his new role, van Karnebeek said, “What really draws me to FrieslandCampina is that it is a modern consumer goods company – with driven employees, nutritious products and ingredients and strong consumer and B2B brands marketed in over 100 countries – combined with the rich heritage and no-nonsense, hands-on ownership mentality of the cooperative.
“FrieslandCampina’s member farmers were ‘purpose-led’ before the word even existed and have always shown that they will take changing consumer needs and societal expectations at heart whilst taking care of their animals, land and farm as good custodians for the next generation. I really look forward to working with FrieslandCampina’s employees and member dairy farmers on growing and further future-proofing this great company and cooperative.”
