Barentz Announces Retirement of CEO Hidde van der Wal

Barentz International announced the appointment of Peter Boone as CEO, starting Oct. 1, 2023. As planned, he will succeed Hidde van der Wal, who has decided to retire after more than 29 years of leadership at the company. van der Wal and Boone will ensure a smooth transition over the coming months.

Boone joins from Barry Callebaut, where he was CEO, having formerly led the Americas division and, prior to this, served as chief innovation & quality officer. Prior to Barry Callebaut, Boone spent more than 15 years at Unilever in various regional and global positions, leading on marketing, sales, and brand development, latterly as the chief marketing officer for Australasia.

van der Wal joined Barentz in 1988, working in various positions throughout the organization. He left in 1994 to join Archer Daniels Midland, before re-joining Barentz in 2000 as CEO. During his tenure he led the growth of Barentz throughout Europe and initiated its expansion into the Americas and Asia, growing turnover from €125 million in 2000 to c. €2.5 billion today.

Ben Osnabrug, partner at Cinven and member of the Supervisory Board, commented: “We are very pleased to welcome Peter to Barentz. He brings with him significant leadership experience and a strong track record in driving growth, championing innovation and sustainability, and expanding into new markets. We are looking forward to collaborating closely with Peter to continue Barentz’s strategic direction serving our principals and customers, and we are excited about Peter joining to lead the next phase of our growth journey.

“The Board and I would like to express our deep gratitude to Hidde for leading and guiding Barentz the last 20 years as the company grew from a regional leader into the global player it is today. Hidde instilled the entrepreneurial culture of the firm and this is a key success factor positioning Barentz for further growth. We wish him the very best for his future.”

“I am extremely proud to have led Barentz over the past 20 years, during which time I have worked closely with the founder of the company, Mr Barentz, the Barentz Foundation and, since 2019, with Cinven to grow and strengthen the brand, and transform the company into what it is today,” van der Wal said. “I want to thank my team for all their hard work and dedication and know that they, and the company, will be in good hands with Peter.”

“I am delighted to be joining Barentz at this exciting time in its journey,” added Boone, “I look forward to working closely with Cinven, the Supervisory Board and the rest of the Barentz team as we continue to grow and strengthen the company globally and tackle new challenges. Hidde has been a fantastic leader of the business over the past 20 years, and I will do my utmost to continue to build upon his work in establishing Barentz as a global leader in the speciality ingredients sector.”