Olam International Limited announces the appointment of Niall FitzGerald KBE DSA as Chair of the Board of Directors of Olam Food Ingredients

Olam International Limited (“Olam”) today announces that Niall FitzGerald has been appointed as the Chair of the Board of Directors for its operating group, Olam Food Ingredients (“OFI”), effective 9 September 2021. OFI was created in early 2020 following the announcement of the re-organisation of Olam to unlock and maximise its long-term value. OFI intends to seek a primary listing on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange, and a concurrent secondary listing in Singapore in H1 2022.

Niall is a widely respected and experienced business leader. His executive career with Unilever spanned 37 years, including 18 years as an executive board member, during which period he served as Finance Director, Foods Director and Detergents Director until his appointment as Chair and CEO in 1996; a position he held for 8 years until 2004.

Niall has chaired a broad range of companies and public bodies including Reuters, Hakluyt, Brand Learning, British Museum, Nelson Mandela Legacy Trust, International Business Council and the Advertising Association. He has also served on several Boards, including Bank of Ireland, Ericsson, Merck, Prudential Corp, the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum, International Policy Council for Agriculture and Trade and was President of South Africa’s International Advisory Council. His current engagements include Chair of The Leverhulme Trust, Chair Hakluyt International Advisory Council and Patron British Irish Chamber of Commerce.

Commenting on the appointment, Chairman of Olam’s Board of Directors, Lim Ah Doo said:
“On behalf of the Olam Board, I am pleased to welcome Niall FitzGerald, a highly successful and distinguished international business leader to be the first Chair of the Board of OFI. Today’s announcement is an important step in our ongoing preparations for the concurrent listing and demerger of OFI. I am confident that Niall will build and lead an effective Board for OFI, which will provide stewardship for sustained profitable growth and value creation with best-in-class governance for all its stakeholders.”

Niall FitzGerald commented:
“It is an honour to be invited by the Olam Board to become the first Chair of the Board of OFI. I am delighted to join this exciting business which is right on trend through its natural ingredients portfolio which has a huge growth potential across the world. The track record in showing how commercial success, a passionate commitment to sustainability and positive social impact can integrate effectively, has a particular appeal. The opportunity to bring this business to the public markets and recruit a diverse and skilled board will also be a new challenge. I look forward to supporting Shekhar and his talented executive team as they pursue sustained profitable growth with measurable social and environmental impact.”

A Shekhar, Chief Executive Officer of OFI commented:
“It will be a privilege to work with Niall and I am confident that his extensive business experience and the network that he has built over his stellar career will bring significant benefits to OFI. OFI has a great legacy and an exciting future ahead and Niall’s appointment comes at an important next phase of our evolution, in which his counsel and support will be hugely valuable for me and my management team.”

About OFI
OFI is a new operating group born out of the reorganization of the Olam Group. OFI offers sustainable, natural, value-added food and beverage ingredients and solutions so that consumers can enjoy the healthy and indulgent products they love. It consists of Olam’s industry-leading businesses of Cocoa, Coffee, Nuts, Spices and Dairy with operations across America, Africa, Europe and Asia, with a network of 15,000 employees, operational in 48 countries, sourcing directly and indirectly from approximately 2.6 million farmer suppliers globally and operating 100+ manufacturing plants.
OFI has built a unique global value chain presence including its own farms, farm-gate origination and manufacturing facilities. OFI partners with customers, leveraging its complementary and differentiated portfolio of “on-trend” food and beverage products, to co-create solutions that anticipate and meet changing consumer preferences as demand increases for healthier food that’s traceable and sustainable.

About Olam
Olam is a leading food and agri-business supplying food, ingredients, feed and fibre to 17,300 customers worldwide. Its value chain spans over 60 countries and includes farming, processing and distribution operations, as well as a sourcing network of an estimated 5 million farmers.
Through its purpose to ‘Re-imagine Global Agriculture and Food Systems’, Olam aims to address the many challenges involved in meeting the needs of a growing global population, while achieving positive impact for farming communities, our planet and all our stakeholders.
Headquartered and listed in Singapore, Olam currently ranks among the top 30 largest primary listed companies in terms of market capitalisation on SGX-ST.

Since June 2020, Olam has been included in the FTSE4Good Index Series, a global sustainable investment index series developed by FTSE Russell, following a rigorous assessment of Olam’s supply chain activities, impact on the environment and governance transparency. The FTSE4Good Index Series identifies companies that demonstrate strong Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices and is used by a variety of market participants to create and assess responsible investment funds.

More information on Olam can be found at www.olamgroup.com.