Strauss Group's headquarters in Shoham, Israel | Photo credit: via Shutterstock

Strauss Group has announced several internal leadership appointments as part of a wider shake-up the company’s organisational structure. 
 

The Israeli food and beverage manufacturer has appointed Strauss Dairies CEO Raanan Kovalsky as CEO of Strauss Israel while Strauss Group Deputy CEO Ronen Zohar will also take on the role of Chief Operations Officer. 

Kovalsky will lead Strauss Group’s business, marketing and sales units in Israel, while Zohar will assume additional responsibility for the company’s operations and supply chain management globally. 

Strauss Group’s organisation restructure is consumer-focused and includes bringing the company’s Israeli factories and supply chain operations under one division. 

The organisation’s coffee and other food and beverage divisions will also begin operating from one centralised headquarters. 

The StraussONE restructure programme, which is forecast to save Strauss Group up to NIS 80m ($23m) annually, will also focus global group investments on four geographical areas — Israel, Brazil, the US and China. 

“This round of appointments is another stage in the Strauss growth strategy through which we will strengthen our focus on the ever-changing consumer, market and retailer. We will also invest in strengthening our excellence in operations, technology and supply chain. All of these moves will ideally position us to meet evolving needs, strengthen our business performance, and increase the value that Strauss creates for all of our stakeholders both in 2023 and beyond,” said Shai Babad, CEO, Strauss Group. 

Additional internal appointments include Yiftah Atzmon as CEO Strauss Dairies, Eran Yarkoni as VP Sales at Strauss Israel, Alon Sherff as VP Supply Chain and Sagi Ben Rimon as VP Operations. 

Tal Ben-Porat, Ariella Weiss and Avi Laufer retain their managerial positions at Strauss Group’s Confectionery Division, Strauss Frito-Lay and Strauss Coffee respectively. 

Shai Babad replaced Giora Bardea as Strauss Group CEO in December 2022. 

The company’s latest quarterly reporting, covering the three months ended 30 September 2022, show Strauss Group generated NIS 2.5bn ($1.7m) revenues.  

Strauss Coffee, which distributes 16 packaged coffee brands, including Elite Coffee and Beanz in Israel, accounted for 52% of total group sales (NIS 1.3bn ($887,000) during the period.