AMERSFOORT, THE NETHERLANDS — Jan Derck van Karnebeek has been named chief executive officer of Royal FrieslandCampina, effective June 1.

Mr. Van Karnebeek takes over the role from Hein Schumacher, CEO of the company since 2018, following Mr. Schumacher’s departure to lead Unilever in May 2023.

"We are delighted to welcome Jan Derck van Karnebeek as our new CEO,” said Sybren Attema, chairman of the supervisory board for FrieslandCampina. “Jan Derck is a business leader with an excellent track record of delivering growth across multiple businesses, in The Netherlands and internationally, in both business-to-consumer and business-to-business settings. He is a seasoned consumer goods executive with a strong focus on value creation for the company and its owners, always with a keen eye for the interests of all stakeholders.”

Mr. Van Karnebeek was most recently the CEO of GreenV, a horticultural solutions company, and adds several decades of leadership experience to FrieslandCampina’s team, including nearly 6 years as chief commercial officer for The Heineken Co. and 10 years across several board positions for various private equity firms.

He holds a master’s degree in business administration from INSEAD and a master’s degree in law from Utrecht University.

“What really draws me to FrieslandCampina is that it is a modern consumer goods company — with driven employees, nutritious products and ingredients and strong consumer and B2B brands marketed in over 100 countries — combined with the rich heritage and no-nonsense, hands-on ownership mentality of the cooperative,” Mr. Van Karnebeek said.