LEUVEN, Belgium — TOMRA Food on Jan. 21 announced the appointment of Michel Picandet to executive vice president and head of the company, effective Jan. 1. Picandet will manage the company’s three brands: TOMRA Food, Compac and BBC Technologies.

Picandet is expected to increase the company’s scope in his new role with TOMRA. He most recently served as global and managing director with Tetra Pak since 2013. Picandet has also worked in the Life Cycle Management division of Sidel for more than 20 years, as well as in engineering and controls at Rhone-Poulenc Animal Nutrition in France.

“I am delighted that Michel is joining our management team. He is a highly strategic, global business executive with strong experience in the food and beverage industry, as well as capital equipment and related services,” said Stefan Ranstrand, president and CEO of TOMRA. “I am confident that under his leadership, the TOMRA Food team will continue to build on our three pillars of technical leadership, food trust and digital transformation, in order to achieve a more circular economy and safeguard the future of food.”

Picandet added, “I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity to lead a forward-looking company such as TOMRA Food, which is spearheading the resource revolution as a sustainability leader. This is a company that continually strives to find innovative ways to reduce the world’s waste and optimize the use of its resources, and I am looking forward to the challenge of helping customers reduce food waste and improve yields in their operations, and build a reputation for their sustainability credentials.”

Picandet earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Clermont-Ferrand and his master’s degree in management from ESCP Business School. Originally from France, he will work at the TOMRA Food headquarters in Leuven in his new role.

Read more about personnel changes throughout the industry.