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The new president of FoodDrinkEurope wants the European food and drink industry to become the gold standard of sustainability

Marco Settembri

FoodDrinkEurope is pleased to announce that Marco Settembri, The Executive Director of Nestlé in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, has been elected as the new President.

The Presidency of Settembri's FoodDrinkEurope is being taken over by Europe's largest manufacturing industry, the food and drink industry, at a crucial time when it is to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, face the challenges of Brexit and help the EU achieve its objectives of providing more sustainable food production systems by becoming climate neutral by 2050.

The new President expressed that he feels honoured to take over the Presidency and looks forward to engaging in these challenges.

"I think that over the last few months we have been able to assess the importance of the contribution of the food and drink industry to society. Despite the restrictive circumstances of the pandemic, we were able to maintain a continuous food supply chain thanks to the commitment of the collectives of production and distribution points and frontline workers. COVID-19 has reminded us all of the importantness of some everyday things that we often take for granted in society: the availability of food and drink, food safety and the need for a flexible food supply chain.

Looking ahead, I would like the European food and drink industry to be a benchmark for sustainability. We need to adapt to different situations, but at the same time we need to continue working on the issues that preceded COVID-19: climate change, obesity, sustainable food production systems. These issues require immediate action. The EU's Green Deal and From-to-The-Table strategies provide a unique opportunity to tackle these challenges at the same time and effectively.

As my role at FoodDrinkEurope, I see common goals for bringing together small and large companies. Carbon neutrality, more sustainable agriculture, a truly single food and drink market and fairness at all stages of the food chain: these are things that we can achieve collectively and that will make our society better off."

Mr Settembri takes office as President in place of Hubert Weber, president of FoodDrinkEurope since June 2017.

Mella Frewen, General Manager of FoodDrinkEurope, said: "I would like to take this opportunity to thank our previous President Houbert Weber for his unwavering support and commitment, wise advice and strong leadership over the last three years. He has been a great asset to FoodDrinkEurope and our entire industry, and we wish him all the best for the way to go. We are delighted to welcome Marco as the new President and look forward to successful cooperation."

FoodDrinkEurope is also pleased to announce the election of three new vice presidents. These include Gonzalo Guillén,General Manager of Acesur, Silviu Popovici,Executive Director of PepsiCo Europe and Lars Appelqvist,Executive Director of AB Anders Löfberg.

About us:

FoodDrinkEurope representsthe food and beverage industry. The food and drink industry, made up of 294 000 businesses and 4.7 million workers, purchases 70% of all EU agricultural products and is Europe's largest industrial sector.