Robert Smith will stand down as president of the executive board and chief executive officer of Royal Cosun on June 1. Albert Markusse, the managing director of Suiker Unie, will assume the position of ceo, and Paul Mesters will succeed Markusse as managing director of Suiker Unie.
On June 1 Suiker Unie CEO Albert Markusse will assume the helm of parent company Royal Cosun, which also owns Aviko BV. Suiker Unie, a cooperative of 9,000 beet growers, produces sugar in the Netherlands and Germany.The Breda, Holland-headquartered agro-industrial group has 3,800 employees and turnover of about €2 billion a year. In addition to sugar producer Suiker Unie, its food ingredients businesses include frozen and chilled potato processor Aviko BV, Duynie, Sensus, SVZ and Cosun Biobased Products.
Smith has been the ceo of Royal Cosun since mid-2008, having previously served as chief financial officer on the executive board. The strategy he launched in 2012 has sharpened the group’s focus and Cosun is now well on course to achieve its goals, according to a company statement.
Markusse joined Suiker Unie in 2007. Under his leadership Cosun’s sugar business was prepared for the abolition of the EU sugar quota system and the organization is now ready for the new market conditions.
Mesters has held a variety of positions at Suiker Unie and has been director of operations since 2009. In this capacity he is a member of Suiker Unie’s management team, which he will chair upon assuming the post of managing director.
