January 24/Redmond, Wash., and Brussels, Belgium/Univar Press Release -- Univar Inc.  announced that David Jukes has been promoted to president of Univar Europe. He replaces John van Osch who is leaving the company to pursue new opportunities.

Jukes has spent much of his career in global distribution, living and working in Australia, the U.S., the Netherlands, and in his native United Kingdom. Most recently, he served as Univar’s vice president of sales and marketing for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and has been instrumental in implementing the company’s pan-European strategy.

“David has tremendous international distribution experience and has demonstrated strong leadership during his time at Univar,” said John Zillmer, president and CEO of Univar. “Our European business is expanding rapidly, particularly in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. David’s global operating experience and entrepreneurial background are important strengths as we continue to integrate our existing operations and build capabilities in new markets.”

“I would also like to thank John van Osch for his service to Univar,” added Zillmer. “During his tenure, he drove our pan-European strategy of integrating our operations across 25 countries and establishing a Univar presence in the Middle East and Africa.”

“We will continue to optimize our operations and expand into to new markets to better serve our global customers and suppliers,” said Jukes. “Our recent acquisitions of Quaron and BCS, and the pending acquisition of Eral-Protek, demonstrate our commitment to growth, and I am very excited about the opportunity ahead for Univar.”

Jukes joined Univar in 2002 as chief executive of Distrupol, which he was instrumental in establishing. He has also served as regional director of Univar U.K., Ireland and the Nordics, and most recently as vice president, sales and marketing EMEA. Prior to joining Univar, Jukes was Senior vice president of Global Sales, Marketing and Industry Relations for Omnexus, a plastics industry consortium e-commerce platform based in Atlanta, Ga. Earlier in his career, he was vice president of Corporate Development for the polymers division at Ellis & Everard, prior to its acquisition by Univar. Jukes is a graduate of London Business School.

From the February 7, 2011, Prepared Foods E-dition