Barry Callebaut Group has made two appointments to its Executive Committee, effective Oct. 1.

The company has named Masha Vis-Mertens as chief human resources officer (CHRO). Vis-Mertens, currently v.p. operations & supply chain EMEA, is succeeding Isabelle Esser, who has decided to pursue another opportunity. 

A Dutch national, Vis-Mertens joined Barry Callebaut in 2012 as global corporate account manager operations & supply chain, assuming the role of global corporate account director in 2014. In 2017, VisMertens was appointed v.p. human resources EMEA. In this role, she focused on talent development and retention by creating a more collaborative culture and a well-structured onboarding of new employees. Since 2019, Masha Vis-Mertens has been v.p. operations & supply chain EMEA. 

Before joining Barry Callebaut, she worked at Cargill in a variety of supply chain roles. Vis-Mertens holds a bachelor’s degree in French and Russian and a master’s degree in European studies from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, as well as an executive master’s degree from the University of Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.

Barry Callebaut’s Board of Directors has also appointed Massimo Selmo as chief procurement officer. Selmo, currently head of global sourcing, will be the group’s first chief procurement officer in the Executive Committee.

Selmo, an Italian and Swiss national, has been with Barry Callebaut for 25 years, with close to 23 years as head of global sourcing. In this role, Selmo contributed to the group’s strategic growth pillar of cost leadership. Furthermore, in support of Forever Chocolate, Barry Callebaut’s plan to make sustainable chocolate the norm by 2025, he championed sustainable sourcing, resulting in 61 percent of the group’s non-cocoa ingredients being sustainably sourced in fiscal year 2019/20. 

Selmo joined Barry Callebaut in 1996, having previously worked at KPMG as senior auditor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy.

“I want to thank Isabelle for her invaluable contributions to Barry Callebaut’s growth over the past years,” said Barry Callebaut Group CEO Peter Boone. “Isabelle transformed the HR function into a business partnering powerhouse, successfully building our talent development program and introducing our #OneBC commitment to build a more diverse and inclusive workplace, all of which will continue to serve the Group in the years to come. “I warmly welcome Masha and Massimo to the Executive Committee of Barry Callebaut. Their longstanding and highly successful track record at Barry Callebaut, in combination with their diverse experience, will ensure a smooth transition, as well as continuity in the implementation of our growth strategy combined with fresh insights into its execution.”