Fonterra Brands, the New Zealand consumer products division of Fonterra Co-operative, recently appointed Dr Beatrijs van Liedekerke as General Manager Food Safety, Quality & Regulatory (FSQR). Reporting to the Managing Director (MD) of Fonterra Brands NZ, Beatrijis will lead the transformational journey of the FSQR function to ensure that FBNZ develops best practice standards, processes and capability for both the present and the future. Additionally, Beatrijs will work closely with the FBNZ MD and the Leadership Team to help develop a clear vision, strategy, operational plan and metrics to deliver improved quality standards, enhanced regulatory and commercial outcomes for the business.

Fonterra Brands NZ is New Zealand’s largest FMCG company and delivers revenues of circa NZ$1 billion. The business employs circa 1,550 staff, has five manufacturing sites and owns two of New Zealand’s Top 10 most loved brands (Tip Top and Mainland). Consumer products include ice cream, fresh milk and cream, butter, yoghurt, culinary cheeses (cream cheese, mozzarella, ricotta, cottage cheese), speciality cheeses, and normal cheeses.

Beatrijs has over 20 years’ experience in biotech, pharmaceutical, medical device and food organisations, across Europe and Asia. She is joining Fonterra from FrieslandCampina where she is the Quality Assurance Director for Butter and Milk Powder, based in Amersfoort in The Netherlands.  Her earlier career includes senior quality leadership roles with Tereos (producer of sugar, starch and bioethanol) and St Jude Medical (now part of Abbott Laboratories). Beatrijs has also spent a significant amount of time with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Belgium, Singapore and China where she directed the life sciences team and performed quality audits.

A Belgian national, Beatrijs has a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences (maxima cum laude) from the State University Ghent in Belgium. 

Beatrijs and her husband are due to arrive in New Zealand late June, relocating from the Netherlands.