Sanford boosts executive team with appointment of Chief Customer Officer

New Zealand’s largest seafood company, Sanford [NZX:SAN] has boosted its executive team with the appointment of Andre Gargiulo to the newly created role of Chief Customer Officer.

Andre Gargiulo will lead Sanford’s sales, marketing and innovation activities as the company continues its shift from a fishing company focused on commodity exports, to an innovative customer-focused seafood company producing premium products for New Zealand and international markets.

Sanford CEO, Volker Kuntzsch, who has put in place a new Executive team and company strategy since taking up the role in 2013, says the Chief Customer Officer role is key for Sanford as it moves from fishing to satisfying customer requirements and diversifying its product portfolio.   

“This is about making the most of our beautiful New Zealand seafood and bringing our customers closer to the New Zealand story of how and where our fresh fish is caught and delivered to their plates.”

“After a lengthy period of time searching for the ideal candidate to lead our sales and marketing activities, I am extremely pleased to announce the appointment of Andre who brings his wealth of experience in sales, marketing and general management to Sanford.”

Andre Gargiulo is currently Country Manager for Cerebos Greggs, where he was responsible for uniting all of the New Zealand brands and achieving revenue growth year-on-year. In addition to this New Zealand based role Andre leads a team in Singapore under the ‘Asian Home Gourmet’ brand.

His career to date has seen him work with a number of signature brands such as Sara Lee and Coca-Cola and holding significant responsibility for B2B relationships, including supermarkets across Australia and New Zealand. 

“During his earlier career, Andre spent a number of years leading sales and operations for MG Marketing, a New Zealand based produce cooperative which, when combined with his B2B experience, equips him well to deliver Sanford’s strategic focus on growth in fresh sales,” said Kuntzsch.

In his current role, Andre has driven the transformation of the Cerebos team culture to be one that is strongly customer focused and outgoing, a task Kuntzsch says will also be a priority at Sanford.

Andre Gargiulo will take up his role at Sanford in February 2016.