Fedima Elects New Board And Appoints Enric Valls As President
Fedima has elected a new Board and appointed a new leadership team during its General Assembly in Bordeaux, France, setting out a renewed mandate for the European bakery ingredients association.
The three-day event brought together members from 13 national associations to discuss sector priorities, current challenges and the association’s future work programme.
On May 12, the General Assembly elected a new Board comprising Christof Crone, BZV; Sébastien Jollet, SYFAB; Gemma Auleda, FEDIMA Spain; Christian Skulte, ASSITOL; David Amos, ABIM; Peter Verhagen, NEBAFA; Jérôme Lebriez, Lesaffre; Cristina Piñol, AB Mauri; Juan-Carlos Puente, Zeelandia; Carine Chincholle, CSM Ingredients; and Enric Valls, Puratos.
Mehmet Duruk, GIDALBIL; Lluís Borrell, Dawn Foods; and Rolf Ahdell, Orkla Food Ingredients, were also elected as co-opted members.
The Board has a renewable three-year mandate and is responsible for driving Fedima’s work programme and ensuring alignment with the association’s strategic priorities.
The following day, the newly elected Board appointed Enric Valls of Puratos as President. Carine Chincholle of CSM Ingredients and Cristina Piñol of AB Mauri were appointed Vice-Presidents, while Christian Skulte of ASSITOL was named Treasurer. Their mandate also runs for three years and is renewable.
Valls said the new leadership would work as “one united team” alongside Secretary General Wouter Lox to advance the association’s objectives.
“As I take on the Presidency of FEDIMA Europe with both pride and a deep sense of responsibility, I am committed to reinforcing our role as a strong, united and influential voice for the bakery and ingredients sector at European level,” Valls said.
He added that Europe’s policy agenda made coordinated representation increasingly important for the sector. “At a time when Europe is redefining its priorities, our industry must speak clearly and with one voice. Bread and bakery products are not only economic assets — they are fundamental to Europe’s nutrition, culture and social fabric, and must be fully recognized in EU policymaking.”
Valls also pointed to the FEDIMA Manifesto and the Bread Initiative as platforms for wider industry alignment, saying they offered an opportunity to bring together the value chain “from ingredients to bakers” and strengthen the sector’s impact in Brussels and beyond.
The Board also thanked the outgoing leadership team, including Thomas Lesaffre as President, Juan-Carlos Puente as Vice-President and Enric Valls as Treasurer.
Lesaffre, who served eight years as a Board member and three years as President, said Fedima was “more than ever recognized as a key player in the baking value chain.”
Fedima represents its membership in discussions at EU level, bringing together companies and national associations to develop common positions on issues affecting the bakery ingredients sector.
The association said its next General Assembly will be announced in due course.