NEW CHAIRMAN AND VICE-CHAIRMAN OF THE GLOBALG.A.P.

19 June 2013
NEW CHAIRMAN AND VICE-CHAIRMAN OF THE GLOBALG.A.P.
BOARD APPOINTED
Cologne, 19 June 2013 - GLOBALG.A.P. is delighted to announce that the newly elected
GLOBALG.A.P. Board has appointed Guy Callebaut as new Chairman and Jim Jefcoate
as Vice-Chairman for a 4-year term.
Guy Callebaut first joined the GLOBALG.A.P. Board in 2012 as a producer/supplier
representative. He holds an MSc in Economics from the University of Leuven (Belgium) and
began his professional career in marketing, working as a key account executive for several
advertising agencies.
Mr. Callebaut brings 30 years of extensive producer experience to the role of Chairman of the
Board. His expertise covers active farming, cooperative marketing–both national and
international–and the fruit and vegetable producer cooperatives in Belgium. As Vice-Chairman
of the Board of the producer cooperative BelOrta, he coordinates with colleague Board
members the overall cooperative marketing strategy at the benefit of all producer members. As
a Board member of VBT (Association of Belgian Horticultural Cooperatives) and LAVA
(Administrative and Logistic Association of Auctions), he guides and supports the cooperation
among producer cooperatives to defend their interests and those of their producer members. As
an active producer of pears and apples, he is responsible for the general, day-to-day
management and the coordination of the production quality management in practice. He also
regularly conducts expertise missions in Central Africa and Asia to assist agricultural
cooperatives in the introduction of international production standards.
“I am a grower first and foremost. I’ve been GLOBALG.A.P. certified for more than 10 years and
so have experienced first-hand the valuable benefits of being part of such an extensive and
strong international system. I am delighted to serve this unique global partnership between
growers and retailers as a Chairman. It is a great opportunity to highlight and strengthen the
benefits for farmers participating in GLOBALG.A.P. around the world,” said Mr. Guy Callebaut,
new GLOBALG.A.P. Chairman of the Board.
The GLOBALG.A.P. Board also elected Jim Jefcoate as Vice-Chairman of the Board.
Mr. Jefcoate, who is a Group Technical Director at IPL, has been a member of the Board since
2011 as a retailer representative. Jim Jefcoate received his mandate from Asda, one of the
UK’s largest supermarket groups, and from Walmart headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas in
the US, who owns Asda and IPL.
Recently IPL announced it is in the process of introducing an automated interface linking
directly to the GLOBALG.A.P. Database. Jim Jefcoate will be applying this IT experience to help
expand GLOBALG.A.P.’s IT capabilities in order to better serve retailers’ supply chain and
sourcing management processes.
Jim Jefcoate stated, “The Board's mission is simple yet challenging. It captures where we
should be aiming as the world's leading standard and service provider for Good Agricultural
Practice. Sustainability and particularly chain of custody will become increasingly important
issues in the next Board's term. The rise in consumer demand for safe and sustainably
produced food has posed a big challenge for retailers and buyers of all sizes. I am convinced
that cutting-edge communication technology will provide the necessary IT solutions to deliver
transparency and integrity along the entire supply chain. Together with GLOBALG.A.P., I look
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19 June 2013
forward to developing innovative approaches to better serve the industry and it’s customers, the
consumers.”
Dr. Kristian Moeller, GLOBALG.A.P. Director, said, “Now, after 12 years, the time has come for
a producer to share this global partnership as our new Chairman. With the experienced
leadership of both a seasoned producer and the representative of the world’s largest retailer,
the GLOBALG.A.P. Board and our global team are more than ready to tackle the challenges to
come. Every single GLOBALG.A.P. member and certified grower around the world is sure to
benefit.”
New GLOBALG.A.P. Board 2013 (l to r):
Guy Callebaut, Zhiqiang (David) Zhang, Martin Hofstede, Hugh Mowat, Richard Yudin, Bert
Urlings, Jim Jefcoate, Leon Mol, Horst Lang, Mari Carmen Morales Abad, Kristian Moeller
About GLOBALG.A.P.
GLOBALG.A.P. is a leading global certification program whose mission is to bring farmers and retailers together to produce and
market safe food to protect scarce resources and build a sustainable future.
For more information on GLOBALG.A.P. visit www.globalgap.org
Contact
GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat c/o FoodPLUS GmbH, Tel: +49 (0) 221 5 79 93-25, [email protected]
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