Nutreco CEO David Blakemore has decided to step down from his position from September 1 and will be succeeded by Bastiaan van Tilburg.
David came out of retirement in 2022 to drive Nutreco’s performance through a stronger focus on customer intimacy and value-added solutions and set the company up for the next stage of growth. Having set these foundations, Blakemore has decided that now is the moment for new leadership to take Nutreco onwards in its next phase of growth and innovation.
“I have enjoyed my time with Nutreco. Having the opportunity to lead this great business has been a privilege. I’ve enjoyed meeting colleagues and customers around the world and collaborating to drive our vision and purpose forward,” said Blakemore. “I’m immensely proud of what we’ve achieved together.”
Bastiaan van Tilburg has been with Nutreco for almost eight years, first as general manager of Trouw Nutrition Benelux, Scandinavia and France, then as managing director for Europe and Central Asia. In June 2024, he took over as COO of Aquaculture, gaining deep aquaculture knowledge and building key industry connections.
Before joining Nutreco, Bastiaan worked in various commercial and operational leadership roles at SHV's daughter company, Makro in Brazil. Prior to joining Makro, he worked at Royal Dutch Shell for four years.
“It’s a fantastic honor to lead Nutreco. We are a group of talented and purpose-driven people with a passion for our purpose of Feeding the Future. Our company has a very meaningful role to play in the food system, and I know that we still have a lot of untapped potential to unlock together. That is why it excites me to accelerate the execution of our strategy and to keep us focused on delivering the very best of Nutreco to our customers, everywhere, every day,” van Tilburg said.
SHV CEO Floris de Ryck said, “We respect David’s decision to step down and want to thank him for all his contributions to Nutreco and wish him all the best in the future.”
New CEO for Skretting
Maarten Bijl has been appointed as CEO of Skretting, replacing van Tilburg.
Maarten has spent the last 16 years working across SHV companies in roles encompassing strategy, commercial management, and general management, and for the past year, as chief digital officer (CDO), a role created in June 2024. Prior to the CDO role, Maarten spent three years as managing director Trouw Nutrition North America. Throughout his career, he has led businesses in different industries, geographies and disciplines and has laid the groundwork for Nutreco’s digital transformation.
“Having spent over a decade in regional general manager roles in different continents, and the past 4.5 years at Nutreco, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know the Skretting team and business and I’m impressed by what I see. The relevance of aquaculture in the food chain and in our global challenge of feeding the future should not be underestimated. I’m excited and honored to work with our team around the world to meet the needs of our customers and drive growth in our business through high-quality feed, product innovation and digital solutions,” Bijl said.
