People Icon

Leading international fresh produce company Univeg has appointed Georgi Koupenov as the new managing director of its Univeg Bulgaria subsidiary, a move it says will ensure it is well placed to capitalise on opportunities to expand further in the eastern European country. Koupenov has held a number of senior management positions at international companies such as Diageo, Remy Cointreau and Metro Cash & Carry, working in several countries worldwide including Japan, Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Hungary.

French interprofessional organisation Interfel has announced the election of Bruno Dupont as president. The organisation’s board voted unanimously, with one abstention, for the representative of the National Federation of Fruit Producers.

Piero Casalini has been confirmed as the new commercial director of Fresh Del Monte’s Italian division, Eurofruit has learned. Casalini, who was a senior sales manager at Del Monte’s European head office in Monaco during a previous ten-year stint with the group up until December 2008, worked most recently as a business consultant for companies including Capespan Italy and Peviani.

Dutch fresh produce marketer The Greenery has strengthened its commercial team with the appointment of Herman Burger, who will work in sales and grower relations at the company’s Barendrecht head office.

Andrés Góngora Belmonte has been re-elected national head of Spanish fruit and vegetable producer association Coag for the next four years. Gongora will be joined on the group’s board by Francisco Gil of Coag Murcia, who will be responsible for citrus; Catalan producer David Borda, responsible for deciduous fruit; and Aragon-based Bernardo Funes, who will continue to head up the dried fruit and nuts sub-sector.

Martin Dunnett, commercial director at Capespan UK, is retiring after 35 years with the company. Dunnett is one of the best-known figures in the fruit trade, both in the UK and South Africa. He has played a key role in seeing the company move from the age of the single-desk marketing system in South Africa through deregulation.