After 15 years in the Asian business community, Susanne Arfelt Rajamand has agreed to become the new CEO of Royal Greenland. She comes from a position as Managing Director of the dairy giant Fonterra's division in Southeast Asia, an organization with more than 2,500 employees.
Susanne Arfelt Rajamand has previously had a solid career with the Unilever consumer goods giant, where she started as a trainee and rose to Managing Director in Singapore.
"Susanne has the profile, international experience and personality to head Greenland's most important company. She will help to ensure Royal Greenland's continued development in Greenland, while maintaining the international focus", says Maliina Abelsen, Chair of the Board of Directors of Royal Greenland.
Royal Greenland's North Atlantic Champion strategy focuses on creating value throughout the value chain. The clear ambition is to be the world's leading supplier of wild-caught North Atlantic seafood, based on cold-water prawns, Greenland halibut and snow crab.
Royal Greenland will continue its growth journey by increasing sales in Asia, but also in North America, besides further developing sales in Europe.
"Royal Greenland is the whole of Greenland's company, and we have a strong focus on developing Royal Greenland in this country. To do so, we must maintain our international focus and sell more in the markets that will pay the most for our products. Susanne's experience is therefore exactly what we need", explains Maliina Abelsen, who has an unanimous Board behind her.
Susanne Arfelt Rajamand succeeds Mikael Thinghuus, who resigned in October after 12 years as CEO of Royal Greenland.
"We're proud to be able to attract such a strong candidate with international experience. Over many years Susanne has shown what she can achieve on the international stage, and we look forward to continuing the company's positive development with Susanne at the helm", says Maliina Abelsen.
Susanne Arfelt Rajamand's first day at the head office in Nuuk will be on 1 February 2023.
"I look forward to starting at Royal Greenland. It's a task I approach with great humility. Together with the employees and the Board, I believe that we can achieve the goals set for Royal Greenland", says Susanne Arfelt Rajamand.
Susanne's international career began at Unilever, where she started as a management trainee in Denmark in 2003 and left the company after serving as Managing Director in Singapore in 2015-2017, after also working in Sweden and the Netherlands as part of her professional development.
Following Unilever, Susanne joined American food company McCormick & Company, where she was responsible for the ingredients business in Asia (excluding China) and the Pacific region, including four factories and four joint ventures, with over 800 employees.
In 2020, she was given even greater responsibility by the New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra, with responsibility for all retail and foodservice sales in Southeast Asia, including responsibility for four factories and an organisation totalling more than 2,500 employees.
In addition to Danish, Susanne is fluent in English, Spanish and German, and she masters Swedish and French at negotiation level.