Hilton Foods’ Wim Koole will exit the business on October 31, according to an internal memo seen by Food Manufacture.
Koole joined the business on 2 January 2006, bringing with him over 30 years of general and production management experience within various production companies across food and pharma, including roles at Merck Sharp & Dohme, Delifrance, Vion, and Nutreco.
His retirement comes after 20 years at Hilton, where he most recently served as its global executive director for seafood, vegetarian and vegan.
Prior to this, Koole led the manufacturer’s European region, playing an important part in the growth and development of this unit. Across his two-decade tenure, he also held a number of senior operational leadership roles at the firm.
Food Manufacture can also reveal that Koole’s retirement, coupled with the sale of Dalco, Hilton’s former vegan business which it offloaded earlier this year, has prompted the business to review the accountability of two of its seafood subsidiaries - Seachill and Foppen.
From 31 October, Samy Zekhout, Hilton’s chief operating officer for the West, will oversee the chilled and frozen fish processor, Seachill. Meanwhile, Foppen, the salmon smokehouse specialist, will report to Melanie Chambers, chief operating officer for the East.
The business will work closely with Koole, Zekhout and Chambers over the coming weeks to ensure a smooth transition.
