Piet Hilarides has been appointed as the new CEO of Royal Agrifirm Group, effective December 1st 2024. Hilarides will succeed Dick Hordijk, who will be resigning on January 1st 2025 after eight years.
Royal Agrifirm Group has announced that Piet Hilarides will join the company as its new CEO on December 1st. Hilarides will succeed Dick Hordijk who, as previously communicated, will resign on 1 January 2025 after eight years as CEO of Royal Agrifirm Group.
In the press release, the company stated: “On behalf of the Supervisory Board we are delighted to welcome Piet, who is a seasoned professional with more than 20 years of national and international experience in cooperative and non-cooperative environments in the agro and food industries, making him a suitable CEO to lead Royal Agrifirm Group through the next period of our strategic plan.”
Given the dynamics in the sector, both domestically and abroad, the period ahead will be one of necessary changes, the company stated. It is important that Royal Agrifirm Group responds proactively in order to strengthen the position that it enjoys in the Netherlands but also beyond its borders and to make the group even more future-proof.
“Together with Stefan Bulthuis as CFO, members of the Global Leadership Team and every employee, Piet Hilarides will continue the efforts to build a ‘responsible food chain for future generations’. Given Hilarides’ experience with cooperatives, we are confident that he will connect well with our members and customers to achieve this, putting the perspective of the farmers and the sector first. We would like to thank Dick once again for everything he has done and contributed over the past eight years and to wish Piet every success as he embarks on his role as the new CEO on 1 December 2024,” Royal Agrifirm Group shared.
PIET HILARIDES’ BACKGROUND
After completing his studies in Business Administration and Business Economics, Piet Hilarides started his career as an Account Manager with PepsiCo. He then continued his career with FrieslandCampina, where he spent 23 years in commercial roles, first of all, within various parts of what was then Campina and later in general positions such as Business Group Director of the Cheese, Butter and Milk Powder division. Following the merger between Campina and Friesland Foods, he spent the last ten years with Royal FrieslandCampina in charge of two business groups, namely the Cheese, Butter and Milk Powder Group and later, in Singapore, the Asia Business Group. He was also a member of the Executive Board of Royal FrieslandCampina during those periods.
After a short spell as a Senior Adviser for Accenture, he was responsible for Perfetti Van Melle’s Asian Business Group as APAC President from Singapore. His most recent position was as CEO of Baladna (a listed dairy company) in Qatar.
