The Supervisory Board (SB) of Royal FloraHolland has reappointed CEO Steven van Schilfgaarde for a four-year term. In addition, a Chief Value Officer (CVO) will be added to the Board as of January 2024. From then on, the Board of Directors of Royal FloraHolland will consist of CEO Steven van Schilfgaarde, CFO David van Mechelen and a CVO yet to be appointed.
From left to right: Jack Goossens (chairman SB), Steven van Schilfgaarde (CEO), Linda Hovius (member SB, chairman of selection and remuneration committee)
Jack Goossens, chairman of the Supervisory Board, explains: "Steven's second term of office does not expire until May 2024. For the sake of continuity and stability, and also because we are very happy with Steven, the Supervisory Board was keen to extend with him in the interim. We have an excellent and well-functioning Board of Directors. The next important step is to further develop the Royal FloraHolland platform in line with the cooperative and business strategy. Our Royal FloraHolland platform consists of Floriday and our physical hubs, through which we can create more value for growers, buyers, other stakeholders and also for RFH. Our goal is to actually realise the value that the platform can deliver. That requires an integrated approach. A board-level interpretation with a Chief Value Officer is a logical next step.
Steven van Schilfgaarde: "Naturally, I am pleased with the confidence expressed by appointing me for a third term. I am particularly pleased with the progress we have made since I arrived seven and a half years ago. We are in constant dialogue with our members, growers, buyers and employees about the future. Thanks to good cooperation with the Members' Council, we now have a cooperative and a business strategy that fit together seamlessly. We are on our way to becoming a platform organisation with services that ensure easy trading, appropriate logistics and smart business. So we are taking significant steps. For the floriculture sector, the biggest challenge at the moment is the call for an accelerated transition to sustainability. As a sector, we are convinced of the importance of sustainability and the social and economic value of our sector for the Netherlands. I will therefore be fully committed to enabling these necessary changes at an appropriate and achievable pace. Strengthening the Board of Directors with the new position of Chief Value Officer will, in David's and my view, provide the necessary acceleration that Royal FloraHolland needs. A boost of relevant knowledge and experience will ensure the accelerated development of new combinations of sustainable services for growers and buyers.
The expansion of the Board of Directors was also discussed with the Works Council. The Supervisory Board expects to appoint a candidate for the position of Chief Value Officer shortly.
Source: Royal FloraHolland