Appointment of Head of PureCircle USA: Jordi Ferre to Spearhead Development of US Business

Jordi will be responsible for spearheading the commercial development of Reb A in the United States. His appointment follows the FDA’s issuance of a no objection letter in December, which gave high-purity Reb A Generally Recognised As Safe (“GRAS”) status, allowing high-purity Reb A to be adopted as a key ingredient in mainstream food and beverage production and across entire product ranges.

15/01/09 PureCircle, the world’s leading developer, producer, and marketer of high purity Rebaudioside A (Reb A) announces a major addition to its senior management team and US business with the appointment of former Tate & Lyle sales and marketing vice president, Jordi Ferre. Jordi will be Vice-President and General Manager, PureCircle USA.

Jordi will be responsible for spearheading the commercial development of Reb A in the United States. His appointment follows the FDA’s issuance of a no objection letter in December, which gave high-purity Reb A Generally Recognised As Safe (“GRAS”) status, allowing high-purity Reb A to be adopted as a key ingredient in mainstream food and beverage production and across entire product ranges. Food and drink manufacturers in the United States are already using high-purity Reb A as a sweetener ingredient.

Jordi, who has an MBA from ESADE Business School in Barcelona, has over 20 years experience in the global food and beverage industry.

He joins PureCircle from Tate & Lyle where he was latterly Vice President, Sales & Marketing for the group’s Splenda Sucralose division worldwide.

Prior to joining Tate & Lyle, Jordi held a number of senior sales and marketing positions at a range of food companies in both the United States and Europe and, during this time, received the prestigious “Marketeer of the New Generation” award from US magazine BrandWeek.

Commenting on the Jordi’s appointment, Magomet Malsagov, Chief Executive Officer, said:

“GRAS status has opened up the United States, the world’s largest market for high purity Reb A, and as the world’s leading producer of this all-natural zero calorie sweetener we are determined to fully exploit our leadership position.

“We are delighted that Jordi is joining PureCircle. The fact that we are able to attract someone of his calibre to spearhead our growth in the USA highlights both the size of the market opportunity and the recognition that PureCircle has already secured as the clear leader in our fast growing industry.

“With Jordi’s arrival, we have added further to what was already one the most experienced management teams in the business. We will continue to invest in our global market leadership and expect to announce further senior appointments in due course.”