Royal FrieslandCampina N.V. appoints Jan Derck van Karnebeek as new CEO

Royal FrieslandCampina N.V. has announced the appointment of Jan Derck van Karnebeek as its new Chief Executive Officer. Van Karnebeek will join FrieslandCampina as from 1 June 2023 and replace Hein Schumacher, who will join Unilever as CEO and leave FrieslandCampina per 1 May 2023.

Jan Derck van Karnebeek is currently CEO of GreenV, the international operating group of companies active in the horticultural sector, which is a portfolio company of HAL Investments. Van Karnebeek spent almost his entire career at Heineken N.V. in commercial, marketing and general management positions. His professional journey at Heineken included jobs in the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Austria and culminated in the position of Chief Commercial Officer and member of the Executive Team at the brewer’s international head office in Amsterdam from 2015 until 2021.

Royal FrieslandCampina N.V.’s Chairman of the Supervisory Board Sybren Attema said “We are delighted to welcome Jan Derck van Karnebeek as our new CEO. 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 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. The Supervisory Board looks forward to working with Jan Derck in shaping the next, successful chapter in FrieslandCampina’s 150-year history.”

Jan Derck van Karnebeek said “I am honored to become FrieslandCampina’s new CEO. 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.”