Pierre Tossut, who has spent 26 years at Puratos, will become chief executive officer on Jan. 1, the company announced Dec. 20. Cédric Van Belle will become chairman of the board on Jan. 1 for the Belgium-based company, a global supplier of bakery, patisserie and chocolate ingredients.

Tossut, who was group business development director at Puratos, will succeed Daniel Malcorps, who led Puratos for 20 years. Tossut was responsible for Puratos’ research and development, marketing, product management and sales, and he structured the company’s health and well-being approach.

“The people we work with and Puratos’ singular focus on our clients have always been key to our success, and we will ensure that these remain at the center of our daily attention,” Tossut says. “At Puratos we believe that food has extraordinary power — the power to feed, nourish, celebrate, comfort and unite people of all backgrounds. Food innovation is energy for good, and this is why we constantly strive to grow our positive impact with the creation of innovative food solutions that promote health and well-being, and steadily move businesses, customers, people and the planet forward. We are very ambitious, and we are giving ourselves the means to have an even larger global impact in the coming years, with the clear goal of reaching a €5 billion turnover by 2030.”

Van Belle was appointed to the Puratos board of directors in 2016 as part of the third generation of shareholders. He has managed the family-owned worldwide network of chocolate museums (Choco-Story) since 2003. Van Belle will take over for Eddy Van Belle as chairman of the board.

“One of the strengths of family-owned companies like Puratos is to think in terms of generations rather than quarterly results,” Cédric Van Belle says. “This is why we have actively committed to an operating model that goes beyond the creation of economic value. One that is sustainable, respectful and balanced. To this end, we are implementing plans to achieve CO₂ neutrality, minimize our water usage and reduce waste.”