TOMRA Food has appointed Christian Tougaard to Regional Sales Director EMEA for TOMRA Processed Food, part of TOMRA Food. Tougaard’s appointment follows the reorganization earlier this year of TOMRA Food into two business areas, TOMRA Processed Food and TOMRA Fresh Food.
TOMRA Processed Food is the world leader in sorting and peeling potatoes, nuts and dried fruits, vegetables and fresh cut, and proteins.
Tougaard will work closely with TOMRA Processed Food’s team, partners, and customers across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He reports directly to Karel Strubbe, VP and Head of Global Sales, TOMRA Processed Food, who was promoted this January from his previous role as TOMRA Processed Food’s Regional Sales Director EMEA.
Strubbe said, “These changes are part of TOMRA Food’s strategy to tailor sorting and peeling solutions very precisely to the specialized needs of individual food categories. They are also part of our ongoing initiatives to work even more closely with customers. By really understanding our customers’ operational challenges and needs, we equip them with the best possible optical sorting and peeling solutions – and valuable data analysis – to help them improve efficiencies and reduce the total cost of ownership, creating higher profitability.
“Christian Tougaard was selected for this role not only for his experience but also for his customer-centric mindset, which is consistent with TOMRA’s values. He has demonstrated a strong focus on tailoring solutions precisely to customers’ needs.”
Tougaard has extensive business-to-business sales experience, working with processing solutions to the global food and environment industries. Before joining TOMRA, he spent 12 years at Alfa Laval, managing business organization development in various roles during a period when the business grew significantly.
Tougaard said, “I was attracted to TOMRA Food by its leadership in innovative optical and peeling sorting solutions, the people I’ve met at the company, and the focus on sustainability. TOMRA is solving important challenges such as food safety, food quality, reducing food loss, creating better working conditions in food processing, and enabling food processors to keep up with demand.
“I am very excited about the growth potential and the challenges of taking the business and organization to the next level. Sales is about creating great customer experiences. I will listen carefully to customers to ensure that we continue providing them with the best possible solutions and a great working relationship with TOMRA.”