The company leadership

We design our organization in such a way that it supports us in living our company values. This is especially true for the leadership of our company. Find out more about the executive team who are spearheading the company’s path to profitable growth and fulfilling our mission.

Our Executive Board

Rob Versloot

Chief Executive Officer

Rob Versloot

Chief Executive Officer

Rob Versloot joined the company in September 2008 as Regional Vice President. In July 2011, he became Executive Vice President and Member of the Executive Board. The Board of Directors appointed him to Group CEO in September 2012.

Before joining Hero, Versloot worked for Royal Numico / Danone. He held various commercial and marketing leadership roles for the company in The Netherlands, Brazil, Indonesia, and Russia. Versloot holds a Master’s in Business Administration & Management from the University of Groningen in The Netherlands.

Dr. Karsten Boyens

Chief Financial Officer

Dr. Karsten Boyens

Chief Financial Officer

Karsten Boyens joined the Hero Group as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in April 2016. He brings with him a wealth of experience in the financial field and consulting, previously working for the Beiersdorf Group and McKinsey & Company. His responsibilities include Finance & Controlling, Tax & Treasury, Legal & Compliance as well as IT.

He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management in Koblenz and a PhD from the Christian Albrechts University of Kiel (Germany).

Markus Lenke

Chief Sales Officer

Markus Lenke

Chief Sales Officer

Markus Lenke joined our German subsidiary Schwartauer Werke in December 1993. He held different Commercial and GM positions within the company and was appointed to Regional Vice President in July 2010. He has been a member of the Executive Board since 2011. During his long career with the Hero Group, Lenke held various positions in sales and marketing functions, among others. He was also General Manager for both Schwartauer Werke and Semper in the Nordics.

Lenke holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Hamburg, Germany.

Christian Schierbaum

Chief Business Officer

Christian Schierbaum

Chief Business Officer

Christian Schierbaum was appointed Chief Marketing Officer at the Hero Group in September 2019. Three years later, his role was extended, and title changed to Chief Business Officer.

He has an extensive professional background in the FMCG industry. Christian has worked in various marketing, sales and business leadership roles on global, regional and local level in industry leading companies, such as Wella, Reckitt Benckiser and Mondelez. He joined the Hero Group from Mondelēz, where most recently he held the positions of President Marketing Europe and President Gum & Candy Europe.

Born and raised in Germany, Christian obtained his Master’s in Business Studies from the Justus-Liebig-University Giessen.

Mita Sen

Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer

Mita Sen

Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer

Mita Sen joined the company in February 2019 as VP Strategy & Business Development before taking on the role of Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer in November 2022.

Sen began her career at PepsiCo International before joining consultancy firm McKinsey & Co where she worked her way up to Associate Partner. Here, she cut her professional teeth in transformation and strategy projects and has worked and lived across Canada, the UK, Singapore, the Philippines, and Switzerland. She completed her MBA at INSEAD in 2011.

Anne Ferbus

Chief People Officer

Anne Ferbus

Chief People Officer

Anne Ferbus joined Hero in March 2023 as our Chief People Officer. Ferbus brings with her an arsenal of experience, ranging from talent management to diversity and inclusion, organizational effectiveness, supporting markets across Europe, the Middle East and Africa with their HR needs, and handling the needs of both white and blue collar employees.

She has worked in HR for all her professional career, starting off as a manager with United Airlines before moving to Hyatt Hotels and subsequently Rubbermaid. In 2005, Anne joined The Coca-Cola Company in a senior HR role and stayed for 12 years before joining Stanley Black & Decker as VP Humas Resources, first for emerging markets and then Europe. She completed her Master’s degree in Business Law at the Université Panthéon Assas in Paris, France.

Our leadership team

Mahmoud Bazan

General Manager Hero MEA & Turkey Cluster

Mahmoud Bazan

General Manager Hero MEA & Turkey Cluster

Jim Frandsen

General Manager Northern European Cluster

Jim Frandsen

General Manager Northern European Cluster

Javier Uruñuela

General Manager Southern European Cluster

Javier Uruñuela

General Manager Southern European Cluster

Philipp von Jagow

SVP Healthy Snacks & Natural Spreads Hero Group

Philipp von Jagow

SVP Healthy Snacks & Natural Spreads Hero Group

Martha Miralles

SVP Baby & Toddler Food/Snacks & Baby & Toddler Milk Hero Group

Martha Miralles

SVP Baby & Toddler Food/Snacks & Baby & Toddler Milk Hero Group

Andrea Takacs

SVP Supply Chain Excellence Hero Group

Andrea Takacs

SVP Supply Chain Excellence Hero Group

Debbie Bootsveld

VP Quality Hero Group

Debbie Bootsveld

VP Quality Hero Group

Johan Houben

VP Media, Digital & Marketing Excellence Hero Group

Johan Houben

VP Media, Digital & Marketing Excellence Hero Group

Sebastian Portius

VP R&D Hero Group

Sebastian Portius

VP R&D Hero Group

Andreas Soland

VP Corporate Controlling, Tax & Treasury Hero Group

Andreas Soland

VP Corporate Controlling, Tax & Treasury Hero Group

Kenneth Verschooten

VP Global Export Hero Group

Kenneth Verschooten

VP Global Export Hero Group

Alberto Abenza

CFO Southern European Cluster

Alberto Abenza

CFO Southern European Cluster

Jonas Forsell

CFO Northern European Cluster

Jonas Forsell

CFO Northern European Cluster

Kyriakos Kasapidis

CFO Supply Chain Hero Group

Kyriakos Kasapidis

CFO Supply Chain Hero Group

Joerg Kehlen

CFO Central European Cluster

Joerg Kehlen

CFO Central European Cluster

Mark Kaelen

Project Lead PHI

Mark Kaelen

Project Lead PHI

Lenka Krchová

Director Baby & Toddler Milks Hero Group

Lenka Krchová

Director Baby & Toddler Milks Hero Group

Max de Maizière

VP of IT (CIO)

Max de Maizière

VP of IT (CIO)

Ricardo Martos

Legal Counsel Hero Group

Ricardo Martos

Legal Counsel Hero Group

Luisma Sanchez

Director R+D BTF & Group Knowledge Management Hero Group

Luisma Sanchez

Director R+D BTF & Group Knowledge Management Hero Group

Thomas Sauermann

Director Supply Chain Central European Cluster

Thomas Sauermann

Director Supply Chain Central European Cluster

Alexis Vermeulen

Group Insights & Analytics Director Hero Group

Alexis Vermeulen

Group Insights & Analytics Director Hero Group

Viona Vogelzangs

HR Director Supply Chain, Quality & CMO Hero Group

Viona Vogelzangs

HR Director Supply Chain, Quality & CMO Hero Group