Dutch fresh produce company Olympic Fruit has revealed that Marnix van Fraassen, its overseas import manager, is to leave the group in order to start his own company.
'After eight years with Olympic Fruit, Marnix van Fraassen decided to take a different direction,' the group said in a statement. 'The board of directors of Olympic Fruit respect the decision and want to thank Marnix for his loyalty and contribution to the growth of the company in the past years.'
Speaking to Eurofruit, group managing director Thijs van den Heuvel confirmed the departure, which will see Van Fraassen take 12 months' gardening leave from the fruit and vegetable business.
'We are now in the process of finding a suitable replacement for Marnix and we hope to be able to make an announcement on this in the coming weeks,' said Van den Heuvel.
The announcement follows the recent departure of another senior manager at Olympic Fruit, deputy director Jan van den Adel, who left the company earlier this year.
Mr Van den Adel, who has worked in the fresh produce trade for a total of 21 years, told Eurofruit he was considering his options before making a decision on his future plans.
Reporting to Van den Heuvel, Van Fraassen and Van den Adel were very much among the senior members of Olympic Fruit's commercial department.
