UK food group Premier Foods has appointed Jennifer Laing as a non executive director with effect from 1 October 2012. Jennifer Laing has over 30 years experience in brand building and communications including 16 years with Saatchi & Saatchi, twice as chairman of theLondonoffice, and culminating in her role as chairman and CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi North America.

Jennifer Laing.

In the early 1990s she led her own advertising agency, Laing Henry, which was subsequently sold to Saatchi & Saatchi. From 2001 to 2007 Jennifer Laing was Associate Dean, External Relations at London Business School. She is currently a non-executive director of (IHG) InterContinental Hotels Group, where she chairs the Corporate Responsibility Committee, and of Hudson Global, a global recruitment company, where she is chairman of the Compensation Committee.

The Barilla Group has appointed Claudio Colzani as its new chief executive. The appointment will be effective starting from October.

Mr Colzani, a veteran of Unilever, started his career as a sales trainee in Italy in 1984. Over the past decade, he has held senior roles around the world, from chairman of Unilever Bestfoods in Brazil, to chief executive and chairman of Unilever’s French unit. He is currently chief customer officer for Unilever in the United States.

Claudio Colzani.

Originally established in 1877 as a bread and pasta shop in Parma, Italy, Barilla now ranks as one of the top Italian food groups. Barilla is leader of the global pasta market, the pasta sauces market in continental Europe, the bakery products market in Italyand the crispbread market in Scandinavia.

Barilla owns 43 production sites (13 in Italyand 30 outside Italy) and exports to more than 100 countries. Every year, about 2,500,000 tons of food products under the brands of Barilla, Mulino Bianco, Voiello, Pavesi, Academia Barilla, Wasa, Harrys (France and Russia), Lieken Urkorn and Golden Toast (Germany), Misko (Greece), Filiz (Turkey), Yemina and Vesta (Mexico), are featured on dining tables all over the world.

Diageo has appointed Ivan Menezes (pictured) as chief operating officer. Ivan Menezes has been promoted from his position as president Diageo North America and chairman of Diageo Asia Pacific and Diageo Latin America & Caribbean.

As chief operating officer, Ivan Menezes will lead Diageo’s operating businesses globally adding responsibility for Europe and Africa to his current responsibility forNorth America, Asia Pacific and Latin America & Caribbean. Nick Blazquez (president Africa), Gilbert Ghostine (president Asia Pacific), Randy Millian (president Latin America & Caribbean), Andrew Morgan (president Europe) and Larry Schwartz, who is concurrently appointed president North America, will report to Mr Menezes.

Reporting to chief executive Paul Walsh will be Ivan Menezes (chief operating officer), Deirdre Mahlan (chief financial officer), Andy Fennell (chief marketing officer), David Gosnell (president Global Supply and Procurement), Gareth Williams (human resources director), Tim Proctor (general counsel) and Paul Tunnacliffe (company secretary).

The appointment has prompted speculation that Ivan Menzies will be Paul Walsh’s successor as chief executive.

SABMiller has appointed Professor Katherine Smart (pictured) as group chief brewer to replace Professor Barry Axcell, who is retiring at the end of July 2012 after almost 35 years of service with the company. Katherine Smart, who is the current SABMiller Professor of Brewing Science and the Head of the School of Biosciencesat the Universityof Nottingham, will take up here new position on June 1st 2012.

Katherine Smart, a well-respected academic, has held this post for seven years and founded Brewing Science at the University offering research programs in malting, yeast genomics, fermentation and flavour. Barry Axcell and Katherine also developed the MSc in Brewing Science.

Katherine Smart has presented to the UK Houses of Parliament, is a scientific advisor to several global companies and has edited a number of books on Brewing Yeast. She has been awarded several awards for research including the Institute of Brewing and Distilling Cambridge Prize. She previously held the appointment of post-Doctoral research fellow at the University of Cambridge.

Carlsberg UK has appointed Benet Slay, formerly managing director, Northern Europe for Diageo, as its new chief executive. He will join Carlsberg UK on 1st March.

Having initially qualified as a management accountant while at Unilever, Benet Slay worked for PepsiCo between 1991-2004, during which time he worked in Southern Europe, the USA, was general manager of PepsiCo Portugal and spent eight years with Walkers Snack Foods in various senior commercial and business development roles.

Benet Slay.

He subsequently became managing director of Diageo GB’s on- and off-trade businesses before becoming managing director for the full Diageo GB business in 2006. More recently, between 2009-11, Benet Slay was managing director, Diageo Northern Europe, responsible for the P&L and commercial activities across ten countries. He is one of the founding trustees of the Drinkaware Trust.

Benet Slay replaces Jesper Friis, who has been acting as interim chief executive for Carlsberg UK since 1st December 2011, when Isaac Sheps started in his new position as chief executive of Baltika Breweries with regional responsibility for Carlsberg’s operations across Eastern Europe.

Athens-based Coca-Cola Hellenic, the world’s second-largest bottler of products of The Coca-Cola Company, has announced that its chief financial officer, Robert Murray, will resign from the group to return to his native USA during 2012. Michalis Imellos, currently general manager of Coca-Cola Hellenic inRomania & Moldova will succeed Robert Murray in the position as chief financial officer. To ensure a seamless transition the appointment will take effect in the second quarter of 2012.

Robert Murray comments: “The opportunity to be part of Coca-Cola Hellenic’s leadership team has been a privilege and a learning experience at a personal and a professional level. The time has now come for me and my wife to relocate back to the USA to be close to our family.”

Michalis Imellos joined Coca-Cola Hellenic in July 2008 as Region Finance Director for several of Coca-Cola Hellenic’s markets including Nigeria, Romania, Moldova, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria. In July of 2011, he was appointed general manager of Romania & Moldova.

Nico Nusmeier, regional president of Heineken Central and Eastern Europe, has decided to leave the global brewing group. Effective from January 1st, 2012 he will be succeeded by Jan Derck van Karnebeek, currently managing director, Romania. In his new role, Jan Derck will be based inVienna as a member of Heneken’s executive committee, reporting to Jean-Francois van Boxmeer, chairman of the executive board and chief executive of Heineken.

Under Nico Nusmeier’s leadership Heineken’s Central and Eastern Europe region has grown considerably through organic growth, M&A and innovations, transforming the business into an important platform for future growth.

Michael Clarke, who joined Premier Foods during the summer as chief executive, has completed assembling his new leadership team with the appointment of Mark Moran as executive director and chief financial officer, replacing Jim Smart, who joined the group in 2009. Mark Moran’s most recent appointment was as group finance director of SSL International, a market leader in consumer healthcare, recently acquired by Reckitt Benckiser.

Since arriving at Premier Foods, Michael Clarke has made a number of executive appointments and is finalising a new business plan and new financing arrangements. However, the UK’s largest food processor faces major challenges including massive pension responsibilities and substantial debts.

Premier Foods produces a range of branded and retailer branded foods. Its portfolio includes famous British brands such as Ambrosia, Batchelor’s, Bisto, Hovis, Loyd Grossman, Mr Kipling, Oxo and Sharwood’s. The business employs around 13,000 people and operates from over 50 sites across the UK and Ireland.

Denis O’Flynn has been appointed as managing director of Pernod Ricard, UK. He joined Pernod Ricard subsidiary Irish Distillers in 1998 as human resources director having held various positions in the drinks industry inIrelandsince 1984. He was appointed commercial directorIrelandin March, 2010 and has held the position of managing director, Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard since July 2011.

Denis O’Flynn is the new managing director of Pernod Ricard, UK.

Denis O’Flynn will report to Laurent Lacassagne, chairman and chief executive of Pernod Ricard Europe, and will be a member of the Pernod Ricard Europe Regional Executive Committee.

Denis O’Flynn holds a Bachelor of Science degree (Microbiology) from University College Dublin.

Pernod Ricard is the world’s co-leader in wines and spirits with consolidated sales of € 7.64 billion in 2010/11. Pernod Ricard employs a workforce of nearly 18,000 people.

Roelof Joosten has bee appointed as a member of the executive board of Royal FrieslandCampina with effect from 1st January 2012. Within the executive board he will be responsible as chief operating officer for the business group Ingredients. He has been responsible for this business group as executive director sine January 2011.

Roelof Joosten has been working at FrieslandCampina since November 2004. Until 1 January 2011, he was managing director of the operating company, FrieslandCampina Domo. Before joining FrieslandCampina, his previous employers included ICI and Unilever.

Roelof Joosten.

The FrieslandCampina Ingredients business group develops and produces nutritional and functional ingredients based on milk, whey, vegetable raw materials for industrial customers in the baby and infant nutrition sector, the food industry, the pharmaceutical industry and the young animal sector. The business group includes the operations of FrieslandCampina Domo, FrieslandCampina DMV, FrieslandCampina Kievit, FrieslandCampina Creamy Creation, FrieslandCampina Dairy Feed and DMV-Fonterra Excipients. In 2010, the business group reported revenue of Eur2.1 billion (21%of FrieslandCampina’s total revenue of Eur9.0 billion). FrieslandCampina Ingredients has 2,500 employees (13% of the total workforce of 19,500 employees).

Premier Foods has appointed Mike Clarke, currently president of Kraft Foods Europe, as chief executive with effect from 1st September 2011. Mike Clarke is one of the most senior executives in the European food industry.

In his role at Kraft he was responsible for managing the group’s entire European business, with revenues of $13b, 58 manufacturing sites and 25,000 employees, reporting directly to Kraft’s chairman and chief executive Irene Rosenfeld.

Mike Clarke.

Prior to taking up his role at Kraft Foods Europe, in 2009, Mike Clarke was president of The Coca-Cola Company, Northwest Europe (including the UK) & Nordics and was with the company for 12 years in a number of senior roles.

As previously announced, Robert Schofield, the current chief executive of Premier Foods, is retiring from the company and will now leave the business following a short handover.

Kraft Foods has named Timothy Cofer, to succeed Michael Clarke as president of its European business. Timothy Cofer will report to chairman and chief executive Irene Rosenfeld and become a member of the Kraft executive team.

He will be based in Zurich, Switzerland. Kraft Foods Europe has revenues of $13b, operates 58 manufacturing sites and employs 25,000 people.

Timothy Cofer began his career with the Kraft Foods in 1992 and has progressed through a number of marketing, strategy and general management roles. Most recently, he has served as senior vice president, Global Chocolate Category Team. Prior to this, he was senior vice president, Strategy and Integration, leading the global integration team following the acquisition of Cadbury in early 2010.

Ian Toal has been appointed as the new chief executive of Adams Foods, the British consumer foods business which is part of the Irish Dairy Board. He is expected to take up the position later this summer. Ian Toal is currently managing director of IAWS Foods UK, a subsidiary of Aryzta, the international speciality bakery group.

Ian Toal will head up a staff of over 700 people at Adams Foods. The business encompasses a range of dairy products under the Kerrygold and Pilgrims Choice brands and cheese pre-packaging facilities in Britain.

Over his career Ian Toal has held a number of senior sales and marketing roles across the fast moving consumer goods sector. Prior to joining Aryzta, in 2008, where he was managing director of Delice de France, managing director of Cuisine de France and latterly managing director of IAWS Foods UK, he held several senior directorial roles at Brakes, a leading foods service company in Europe.

Stephen Twaddell has been appointed as president of Kellogg’s European operations, which employs 8,000 people and had sales of $2.2b and an operating profit of $364m in 2010. Headquartered in Dublin, the division includes Kellogg’s UK & Ireland business and extends as far as Russia, Turkey and the Middle East.

Stephen Twaddell has been with the world’s largest breakfast cereal manufacturer for 25 years and has previously headed up the Nordic and the UK & Ireland businesses.

Coca-Cola Enterprises, the world’s third-largest independent Coca-Cola bottler, has appointed Garry Watts as a director with immediate effect. He will serve on the finance and audit committees of CCE’s board of directors.

He currently serves on the board of directors at Stagecoach Group, where he is senior independent director and chairman of the audit committee, and previously served on the boards of Celltech Group, Medeva and Protherics.

Mr Watts most recently served as chief executive of British consumer healthcare products company SSL International. While there, he led the company’s successful turnaround, resulting in its recently-completed sale to Reckitt Benckiser.

“Garry’s experience in the European fast-moving consumer goods industry and his extensive accounting and financial expertise will provide tremendous value to our board of directors,” says John Brock, chairman and chief executive of Coca-Cola Enterprises.

CCE is the sole licensed bottler for products of The Coca-Cola Company in Belgium, continental France, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.

UK confectionery retailer Thorntons has appointed Jonathan Hart as group chief executive with effect from January 4th 2011. Jonathan Hart’s retail and consumer goods experience spans more than 25 years. For the past five years he has been managing director of UK coffee chain Caffe Nero, where, during his tenure, the business has more than doubled in size to over 400 stores with EBITDA of £28.7m and revenue of £153.6m (year to May 2010). In addition to driving top-line growth and physical expansion, he streamlined retail merchandising, built the Caffe Nero brand equity and improved company profitability.

Diageo has appointed Lord Mervyn Davies of Abersoch to its board effective from 1st September 2010. He becomes a non-executive director and his responsibilities will include membership of the audit, the nomination and the remuneration committees.

Lord Davies was previously Minister for Trade, Investment and Small Business for the UK Government between January 2009 and May 2010. Prior to this role, Lord Davies was chairman of Standard Chartered PLC, the financial services company with leading positions in Asia, Africa and the Middle East and for which he was also group chief executive from 2001 until 2006. He was a non-executive director at Tesco from 2003 to 2008.