Nutreco CEO David Blakemore will step down from his position, effective September 1. He will be succeeded by Bastiaan van Tilburg.
Blakemore came out of retirement in 2022 to drive Nutreco’s performance through a stronger focus on customer intimacy and value-added solutions, and to set the company up for the next stage of growth. Having set these foundations, he has decided that now is the moment for new leadership to take Nutreco onward in its next phase of growth and innovation.
“I have enjoyed my time with Nutreco,” Blakemore said. “Having the opportunity to lead this great business has been a privilege. I’ve enjoyed meeting colleagues and customers around the world and collaborating to drive our vision and purpose forward. I’m immensely proud of what we’ve achieved together.”
Blakemore’s successor van Tilburg has been with Nutreco for almost eight years, first as general manager of Trouw Nutrition Benelux, Scandinavia and France, then as managing director for Europe and Central Asia. In June 2024, he took over as chief operating officer of aquaculture, gaining deep aquaculture knowledge and building key industry connections.
Before joining Nutreco, van Tilburg worked in various commercial and operational leadership roles at SHV daughter company Makro in Brazil. Prior to joining Makro, he worked at Royal Dutch Shell for four years.
van Tilburg studied at the University of Groningen and holds a Bachelor and Master of Arts in international organization and international relations.
He brings a strong track record of building connected teams that rally around a common purpose and deliver positive results.
“It’s a fantastic honor to lead Nutreco,” van Tilburg said. “We are a group of talented and purpose-driven people with a passion for our purpose of feeding the future. Our company has a very meaningful role to play in the food system, and I know that we still have a lot of untapped potential to unlock together. That is why it excites me to accelerate the execution of our strategy and to keep us focused on delivering the very best of Nutreco to our customers, everywhere, every day.”
Maarten Bijl, chief digital officer, will succeed van Tilburg as CEO of Skretting.
