FrieslandCampina Cooperative wants to bring Sybren Attema back as intended chairman. The very experienced director, one of the architects of the merger of Friesland Foods with Campina, is nominated as a member of the cooperative board. If the Members' Council approves his appointment, the board will then appoint Attema as chairman of FrieslandCampina.
FrieslandCampina announced this on Wednesday afternoon. The Members' Council will vote on this intended appointment during an extra meeting on 12 November. Attema can thus become the first chairman who is not an active member of the cooperative. The articles of association will therefore be temporarily amended to enable his appointment. A seat on the board currently requires active membership of the cooperative.
Sybren Attema has an extensive track record in cooperative management. Until 2010, Attema held board positions at various legal predecessors of FrieslandCampina for eighteen years, the cooperative reports. As chairman of Friesland Foods, he was closely involved in the merger of Friesland Foods with Campina and subsequently served as vice chairman for two years. In 2010, Attema resigned from his board positions and joined FrieslandCampina as regional manager for the Dairy Development Program Southeast Asia. He held that role until 2019.
Successfully working together as a connector
The board of the cooperative sees Attema as the man to carry out the assignment it received from the Members' Council after the departure of Edwin Wunnekink as chairman. Sandra Addink-Berendsen, vice-chairman, said in the statement: "The Members' Council has given us a clear assignment: 'Strengthen the connection between members and the cooperative, and strengthen supervision and cooperation with the company. Provide leadership, bring peace and stability in the cooperative, while the company can continue to run at full capacity.' Sybren has a unique profile, he has knowledge of the company and of the cooperative, and is a true connector who has already shown that he can work together successfully on the realization of a shared and clear dot on the horizon."
Sybren Attema states in the same statement about the nomination: "Eleven years ago I was one of the founders of FrieslandCampina. We built the cooperative in the interest of our dairy farmers, and I still feel very involved. Now both the sector, the cooperative If the company goes through a challenging time, I am once again very motivated to build the future of FrieslandCampina together with the members and the incumbent board. that I can rely on the knowledge and experience of the board. I look forward to putting our shoulders to the wheel together."
In the new constellation Sandra Addink-Berendsen will remain the vice-chairman of the cooperative.
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