Bio-based Industries Consortium appoints Rob Beekers, director of new business development at Cargill Bio-Industrial Group, as chair; he succeeds SAPPI's Mat Quaedvlieg, who has served as BIC chair for five years

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BRUSSELS , May 24, 2022 (press release) –

Rob Beekers is the new Chair of the BIC Board. He was formally endorsed at BIC’s General Assembly on 18 May, 2022. Rob is Director of New Business Development at Cargill Bio-Industrial Group and has been a member of the BIC Board since 2019.

Rob joined Cargill in 1996 and has since worked in several of the company’s departments covering Food; Industrial Starches; and Bio-based Coatings, Adhesives, Sealants and Elastomers. He is based in the Netherlands.

Following his new appointment as Chair of the Board at BIC, Rob said: “I’m delighted to be BIC’s new Chair. I would like to thank our Board and General Assembly for their confidence. Special thanks to Mat Quaedvlieg for his leadership during the past five years. I look forward to building on that through our partnership in the recently formed CBE JU, and by serving the interests of the diverse members of our Biobased Industries Consortium.”

Rob is taking over from Mat Quaedvlieg from SAPPI, who has served as BIC Chair for five years. BIC’s Board and members thanked Mat for his commitment and leadership over the past half decade. Under Mat’s chairmanship, BIC was able to continue the partnership with the European Union (the CBE JU), and to develop BIC further as the leading European association for the bio-based economy. Together with the Board, he expanded BIC’s activities into business development, access to finance and education. 

The General Assembly also saw the welcoming of nine new Industry members: Aida Nano SL, Givaudan, Fermentalg, Kiverdi, Nordzucker, Soprema SAS, Synthos, Ynsect and Waterskins (winners of the BISC-E competition in 2021). “This expanding membership demonstrates a continuing interest by industry in funding instruments for bioeconomy investments, creating cross-sectoral partnerships and leveraging and de-risking investments in the circular bioeconomy”, says Executive Director of BIC, Dirk Carrez. “BIC’s new members will bring an added dimension to its role in setting up new and innovative value chains, fostering new investments and stimulating jobs and growth in the bioeconomy”.

An additional 14 associate members joined BIC, indicating that the research and academic community is fully prepared to collaborate with industry towards bringing innovation to market.

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