Ben De Schryver to succeed Remco Steenbergen as CFO of the Barry Callebaut Group

Remco Steenbergen

Ben De Schryver

(PRESS RELEASE) ZURICH, 11-Nov-2020 — /EuropaWire/ — The Barry Callebaut Group announces changes in its Executive Committee. The Group’s current Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Remco Steenbergen, will leave as of December 31, 2020, to become CFO of the Lufthansa Group. Current President Asia Pacific and member of the Executive Committee, Ben De Schryver, has been appointed as new CFO effective January 1, 2021.

The Board of Directors and the Executive Committee would like to thank Remco Steenbergen for his strong contribution to Barry Callebaut’s growth journey and in particular for his leadership in strengthening the Group’s financial basis.

Ben De Schryver (born 1974, Belgian national) has been President of Barry Callebaut in Region Asia Pacific since September 2016 and has been a member of the Group’s Executive Committee since September 1, 2017. Under his leadership Region Asia Pacific achieved four consecutive years of solid growth, combined with very strong profitability. Ben De Schryver has been with Barry Callebaut in a variety of sales and senior finance roles since 1999. He started with the Group in Belgium and transferred to Singapore in 2002 as CFO Region Asia Pacific. He then relocated to Canada as Director Pricing & Customer Services in 2007, before moving on to Barry Callebaut’s Region Americas head office in Chicago in 2009, where his last role was CFO Americas. Ben De Schryver holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from University College in Ghent, Belgium.

Antoine de Saint-Affrique, CEO, comments: “Remco is leaving, having successfully accomplished his mission at Barry Callebaut. His drive to improve processes and systems, the strengthening of the finance function and his leadership in continuously strengthening our balance sheet are putting the company on a very strong financial footing for continued growth. I wish Remco all the best in this exciting new step in his career. I am delighted to welcome Ben as Barry Callebaut’s new CFO. Ben is a home grown talent who, thanks to his many years with our company in a variety of roles, including President Asia Pacific, CFO Americas and CFO Asia Pacific, combines a profound strategic insight with a very solid financial background. Ben’s appointment ensures a smooth handover and the further consistent execution of the Group’s successful ‘smart growth’ strategy.”

Barry Callebaut will announce in due time who will succeed Ben De Schryver as President Asia Pacific.

About Barry Callebaut Group:

With annual sales of about CHF 6.9 billion (EUR 6.4 billion / USD 7.1 billion) in fiscal year 2019/20, the Zurich- based Barry Callebaut Group is the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products – from sourcing and processing cocoa beans to producing the finest chocolates, including chocolate fillings, decorations and compounds. The Group runs more than 60 production facilities worldwide and employs a diverse and dedicated global workforce of more than 12,000 people.

The Barry Callebaut Group serves the entire food industry, from industrial food manufacturers to artisanal and professional users of chocolate, such as chocolatiers, pastry chefs, bakers, hotels, restaurants or caterers. The global brands catering to the specific needs of these Gourmet customers are Callebaut® and Cacao Barry®, Carma® and the decorations specialist Mona Lisa®.

The Barry Callebaut Group is committed to make sustainable chocolate the norm by 2025 to help ensure future supplies of cocoa and improve farmer livelihoods. It supports the Cocoa Horizons Foundation in its goal to shape a sustainable cocoa and chocolate future.

Media contacts:

Frank Keidel
Head of Media Relations
+41 76 399 69 06​

Claudia Pedretti
Head of Investor Relations
+41 43 204 04 23

SOURCE: Barry Callebaut AG