At the 38th AIBI Congress, Jean-Manuel Lévêque was appointed as the association’s new president, as the two-year mandate of the previous leader, Georg Heberer (Germany) came to an end. Lévêque returns to the leadership of AIBI – he was previously its President from 2015 to 2017.
In his previous role in the International Association of Large Plant Bakers, he was a Vice President. He spent most of his career within the Grands Moulins de Paris/Delifrance Group, including the role of Delifrance CEO, which he held for 15 years. Since 2018, he became chairman and co-owner of Novepan, a medium-sized company active in the premium bake-off industry with six factories in France.
He is also a Treasurer of the French Federation of Industrial Bakers (FEB).
The announcement was made during the Gala Dinner, organized at the Rickmer Rickmers, Hamburg’s landmark museum ship and restaurant. The Congress was held in Hamburg from May 22 to 24, under the theme “21st Century Breeze over the Bakery”, and hosted a suite of insights and panel discussions over two days, covering current hot topics, from sustainability and regulatory updates to labor force issues and advances in AI.
In addition, Guido Vanherpe and Kari Meltovaara were elected as Vice Presidents, and four new members have joined the AIBI Board.
“Our industry is undergoing intense mergers and acquisitions, while at the same time facing systemic operational changes in the areas of sustainability, access to raw materials and energy, the need to adapt to workforce changes and digitalization, and the internationalization of our business. AIBI is our common asset to successfully address these and I am proud to lead AIBI’s strategy for the next two years. I see both the commitment of all the companies that are collectively members of our European Federation and the strong partnership with our colleagues in the bakery value chain, including the artisan bakers, our suppliers and the downstream distributors of our products, as a key element of success. While just coming back from the 38th AIBI Congress, we all took stock of the ongoing changes and the strength of our partnerships, and I look forward to reinforcing AIBI’s role in the success of our entire bakery, patisserie and confectionery sector, fresh and frozen,” said Jean-Manuel Lévêque.
As customary, the next edition of the AIBI Congress will be held in two years, in its Presiden’t home country – France.
Photo: Marvin Meitzel, Corporate Content Partner, AIBI
