A new managing director, regional president, head of NPD, and brand ambassador are the latest positions filled at bakery brands, manufacturers, and equipment suppliers.
One is the result of an internal promotion, two others are completely new roles at the companies, whilst the fourth sees a replacement for someone retiring after more than 35 years at the top.
Check out the full details on each new bakery sector appointee as follows:
AMF Bakery Systems
Global equipment supplier AMF Bakery Systems has elevated Vincent Langelaar from VP to president of the Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific regions.
The promotion of Langelaar – who has been with the company for over six years – forms part of a series of recent leadership changes aimed at accelerating AMF’s strategic growth, enhancing innovation, and strengthening operational execution across global markets. These include Ken Newsome returning to his former position as chairman and CEO, replacing Jason Ward who led the firm for the past four years and who will support a transition period until the end of the year.
Additionally, David Bull has been appointed to the newly created role of president and COO, there’s a new president for the Americas in Brandon Brilliant, along with new VPs for China, Canada, and Global Engineering divisions. “These organisational changes reflect months of thoughtful planning and are grounded in our mission to be the partner of choice for bakers worldwide,” commented Newsome.
Cornish Bakery
Chef Arnaud Kaziewicz has been named head of proposition and product innovation at Cornish Bakery, which created the new position to help enhance the food offering and customer experience across its growing retail estate.
Born and raised in Le Mans, France, he trained as a chef in a Michelin-starred brasserie and progressed to work in several high-profile kitchens including in England, the US, and Australia. Kaziewicz has since held senior food development roles such as director of food at sandwich chain Eat and head of food at Red Engine, the operator of Flight Club and Electric Shuffle. He was also a finalist on MasterChef: The Professionals in 2016.
Kaziewicz will lead the Cornish Bakery product team in the creation and development of a range of innovative new products, as well as refining the much-loved range of pastries, cakes, viennoiseries and pasties. Recent NPD launches have included an apple crumble scone, a raspberry crème brûlée pastry, a feta and pea tortilla, and a hazelnut pain au chocolat.
The company appointed a new property director, Jeremy Smith, last month to assist in its estate target of more than 400 shops nationwide – it currently has 67 sites in operation, having opened its latest outlet in Hereford earlier this week.
Stateside Foods
The Bolton-based subsidiary of global frozen and chilled pizza manufacturer Freiberger has announced Ruth Simpson as its new managing director, effective from 1 September. She takes over from Jon Lucas, who is retiring after more than three and a half decades with Stateside Foods.
Simpson has over 25 years of experience in the food industry, most recently as CCO at the Princes Group where she was responsible for commercial management of European business units, transformation projects, and integration following a change of ownership. She is noted to specialise in strategy implementation, operational excellence, customer focus, and sustainability.
“Stateside Foods is an impressive company with a clear vision and great development,” commented Simpson. “It is an honour and I am very much looking forward to working with the management team to continue to shape the future so successfully.” The company operates a site in Westhoughton, near Bolton, where it employs over 1,200 people across three plants producing and supplier pizza lines for the UK retail sector.
Walker’s Shortbread
Scottish tennis legend Andy Murray has become the first-ever brand ambassador for Walker’s Shortbread.
The multi-year partnership has been championed by a campaign launched to coincide with Wimbledon and serving up the message: ‘A Wee Bit of Scotland that’s Come a Long Way’.
“I am proudly Scottish, and partnering with Walker’s, a brand that has been representing Scotland around the world for well over a century, felt like a great fit for me,” said Murray.
““I’ve been eating shortbread since I was a kid – my gran would make it all the time for us. We even celebrated my Wimbledon win with shortbread. Shortbread is one of my simple pleasures. No matter where I am in the world, a piece of Walker’s Shortbread always transports me back home,” he added.
The 127-year-old business is still based in Speyside and welcome fourth-generation family member Bryony Walker to its board in May as its new commercial director. Former joint managing director Sir James Nicol Walker CBE, who worked for the firm for over 60 years during which its turnover grew from £40k to £184m, passed away last December at the age of 80.
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