Jeff van der Eems, the former chief executive of United Biscuits (UB), has been made chairman at European bakery group Continental Bakeries (CB).

Van der Eems left UB in March, where he had been for more than 11 years. CB has recently been acquired by Silverfern and Goldman Sachs, from NPM Capital.

Dutch brand CB makes biscuits and bread replacements – it has 12 factories in Western Europe and employs around 1,550 people.

Ruud van Henten, chief executive of CB, said: “Jeff is an industry veteran and his deep industry expertise will be of great value to us.”

Van der Eems said of the move: “The European biscuits and bread replacement market is highly fragmented and ripe for consolidation.” 

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