After 33 years at Chr. Hansen, 14 years in executive management and eight years as CEO, Lars Frederiksen has decided to step down as CEO of Chr. Hansen, a feed provider, as of March 31, 2013, in order to devote more time to non-executive board positions.
The Board of Directors has appointed Cees de Jong as new CEO of Chr. Hansen as of April 1, 2013.
Frederiksen joined Chr. Hansen in 1980 and was appointed to the executive board of the former Chr. Hansen in 1999. He became CEO in April 2005 in connection when the company partnered with French equity firm PAI.
"Lars has led the impressive transformation process during PAI's ownership as well as the successful listing on the Copenhagen stock exchange in 2010. During the eight years under Lars' leadership and after almost three years as a listed company Chr. Hansen has positioned itself as a leading and high growth global supplier of bioscience- based ingredients to the food and pharmaceutical industries and with a strong platform for sustainable and profitable growth. Lars has decided that this is now time to pursue other opportunities in life and on behalf of the Board of Directors I would like to thank Lars for his contribution to Chr. Hansen and wish him all the best for the future," says Ole Andersen, chairman of the board of directors.
Cees de Jong is a doctor of medicine from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam and has a Master's in Business Administration from the Rotterdam School of Management. Cees serves as a non-executive member of the Board of Protein Sciences Corporation).
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ole Andersen commented: "I am happy that we have been able to recruit Cees who brings a unique combined knowledge of Ingredients and biopharmaceuticals. I am convinced that he is the right person to take Chr. Hansen to the next level."
Cees de Jong said: "Chr. Hansen has built a very strong foundation and is well positioned for the future. I am honored and excited by this opportunity and I look forward to joining the company in order to exploit the further potential together with 2,500 committed employees."
