François Maes, the founder of Belgian importer Special Fruit, has announced that he will resign from his current position as business development director on 1 January 2015.
Maes has held the role since October 2012 when he handed over the daily management of the company to his brother Patrick Maes.
With his 35 years of experience in the fruit business, François will remain closely involved with Special Fruit through his position on the board of directors.
On 1 September, Karel Bolckmans will join the management team, sharing the role of business development director with François, before taking full charge of the department at the start of 2015.
Bolckmans boasts more than 20 years' international experience in the industry, with a specialisation in the fields of integrated pest management, sustainable agriculture and innovation management.
For the last 16 years, he has worked as global R&D and production director at Dutch firm Koppert Biological Systems, leading the development of several innovations.
With the recruitment of Bolckmans, Special Fruit is signalling its commitment to corporate social responsibility to its customers.
'To this end, Special Fruit wants to be a discussion partner for its customers and the growers in the area of sustainable cultivation techniques, so that food safety, sustainable and socially responsible production, product quality and product availability are fully guaranteed, in the interests of its customers and ultimately in the interests of all links in the production chain,' the company stated.
