September 1, 2023

Barentz International, a global life science and specialty performance ingredients distributor, has announced the appointment of Peter Boone as chief executive officer, starting October 1, 2023. As planned, he will succeed Hidde van der Wal, who has decided to retire after more than twenty years of leadership at the company. van der Wal and Boone will work together to ensure a smooth transition over the coming months. 

Boone joins from Barry Callebaut where he was the CEO, having formerly led the Americas division and previously served as chief innovation and quality officer. Prior to Barry Callebaut, Boone spent more than fifteen years at Unilever in various regional and global positions, leading on marketing, sales, and brand development, latterly as the chief marketing officer for Australasia. 

“I am extremely proud to have led Barentz over the past twenty years, during which time I have worked closely with the founder of the company, Mr. Barentz, the Barentz Foundation and, since 2019, with Cinven to grow and strengthen the brand, and transform the company into what it is today. I want to thank my team for all their hard work and dedication and know that they, and the company, will be in good hands with Peter,” said van der Wal.

Boone said, “I am delighted to be joining Barentz at this exciting time in its journey. I look forward to working closely with Cinven, the supervisory board and the rest of the Barentz team as we continue to grow and strengthen the company globally and tackle new challenges. Hidde has been a fantastic leader of the business over the past twenty years, and I will do my utmost to continue to build upon his work in establishing Barentz as a global leader in the speciality ingredients sector.”