David Blakemore to step down as CEO of Nutreco, Bastiaan van Tilburg to succeed him

  • Press Release
  • Corporate
19 August 2025

Amersfoort, The Netherlands, August 19, 2025 - Nutreco CEO David Blakemore has decided to step down from his position from September 1 and will be succeeded by Bastiaan van Tilburg. 

David came out of retirement in 2022 to drive Nutreco’s performance through a stronger focus on customer intimacy and value-added solutions, and to set the company up for the next stage of growth. Having set these foundations, David has decided that now is the moment for new leadership to take Nutreco onwards in its next phase of growth and innovation. 

I have enjoyed my time with Nutreco. Having the opportunity to lead this great business has been a privilege. I’ve enjoyed meeting colleagues and customers around the world and collaborating to drive our vision and purpose forward.” says David. “I’m immensely proud of what we’ve achieved together.

With effect from September 1, 2025, Bastiaan van Tilburg will succeed David as CEO. 

Bastiaan van Tilburg has been with Nutreco for almost eight years, first as general manager of Trouw Nutrition Benelux, Scandinavia and France, then as Managing Director for Europe and Central Asia. In June 2024 he took over as COO Aquaculture, gaining deep aquaculture knowledge and building key industry connections. 

Before joining Nutreco, Bastiaan worked in various commercial and operational leadership roles at SHV daughter company, Makro in Brazil. Prior to joining Makro, he worked at Royal Dutch Shell for four years.  

Bastiaan studied at the University of Groningen and holds a Batchelor and Master of Arts in International Organisation and International Relations.  

He brings a strong track record of building connected teams that rally around a common purpose and deliver positive results.

It’s a fantastic honour to lead Nutreco. We are a group of talented and purpose-driven people with a passion for our purpose of Feeding the Future. Our company has a very meaningful role to play in the food system, and I know that we still have a lot of untapped potential to unlock together. That is why it excites me to accelerate the execution of our strategy and to keep us focused on delivering the very best of Nutreco to our customers, everywhere, every day.

Maarten Bijl, currently Chief Digital Officer, will succeed Bastiaan as CEO Skretting.  

SHV CEO Floris de Ryck comments, “We respect David’s decision to step down and want to thank him for all his contributions to Nutreco and wish him all the best in the future.”