Piero Casalini has been confirmed as the new commercial director of Fresh Del Monte's Italian division, Eurofruit has learned.
The appointment follows the recent unexpected departure of Maurizio Pisani, who stepped down as commercial director at the end of April having joined less than 12 months previously.
Pisani was formerly marketing director of Chiquita Italia, where he had been working for more than 16 years before leaving to join Del Monte in July 2011.
Casalini, who was a senior sales manager at Del Monte's European head office in Monaco during a previous ten-year stint with the group up until December 2008, worked most recently as a business consultant for various companies including Capespan Italy and Total Produce's Italian subsidiary Peviani.
Prior to that, he was a key member of the senior commercial team behind Unica Group, a new project established in Almeria, Spain, which broughgt together five of the region's leading vegetable-producing cooperatives.
Casalini officially took charge of Del Monte's Italian operation in May and will work to develop the group's sales in the country, where it recently ended a long-standing import marketing agreement with leading marketer GF Group.
According to Casalini, the company plans to set up a network of new offices in italy, the first of which is due to open in Milan in June.
