Barry Callebaut's chief operations officer to retire
After serving Barry Callebaut for 35 years, of which ten years as chief operations officer and member of the Executive Committee, Dirk Poelman (born 1961) has decided to retire as per the end of the company’s fiscal year, August 31, 2019. Dirk Poelman can look on an impressive career with Barry Callebaut. After completing his studies as Industrial Engineer in 1984, he began as engineering manager with Callebaut, which later merged with Cacao Barry. Over the course of his career, Dirk Poelman worked in various managerial positions and countries before he was appointed to the Executive Committee in 2009, responsible for the Group’s global Operations & Supply Chain Organization (OSCO).
"Dirk Poelman has been part of our growth journey like hardly anyone else, contributing to each step of our numerous expansion and acquisition projects and making sure our operations would enable our growth. On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee I would like to warmly thank Dirk for 35 years of outstanding commitment and contribution. I am delighted to welcome Olivier Delaunay to the Executive Committee. Olivier has worked as vice president OSCO for our largest region, EMEA, since 2012. Over the last seven years, he has headed the deep transformation of our OSCO footprint and capabilities in the region, playing a key role in enabling current and future growth in EMEA. Importantly, he has built and grown around him a strong and talented team that lives our company values. I am confident that Olivier will build on Dirk’s legacy and bring our global manufacturing network of over 60 factories to the next level," said Antoine de Saint-Affrique, CEO.