Jesús Serafín Pérez has been confirmed as president of FoodDrinkEurope for the next three years. Perez was first appointed to the role in July 2009.
The reappointment of Mr Pérez is said to reconfirm the central role played by SMEs (small/medium enterprises) in the organisation; the president is the first ever CEO of an SME to head up the board of directors.
FoodDrinkEurope's mission is to facilitate the development of an environment in which all European food and drink companies, whatever their size, can meet the needs of consumers and society, while competing effectively for sustainable growth.
Several other directors were also re-elected, including the three vice-presidents and the treasurer. This, according to FoodDrinkEurope, provides continuity for the incoming Board and its work, consolidating the new internal governance system of FoodDrinkEurope introduced in 2009.
The new Board reemphasised the importance of FoodDrinkEurope as the key interlocutor for EU policy-makers on issues affecting Europe’s food and drink industry, and has also pledged to step up its efforts to ensure Europe’s food manufacturers’ interests are fairly and duly represented in key fora, particularly in working with EFSA, Europe’s risk assessment body, and in other key EU platforms.
