GFSI is delighted to announce the appointment of Bizhan Pourkomalian, McDonald’s Global Safety Director, as the newest retail co-Chair of the GFSI EMEA local group, joining current manufacturer co-Chair Lindsay Hay, PepsiCo Director of Quality Assurance in this pivotal role.
Following a strong foundation in academia and research, Bizhan brings nearly 25 years of specialised experience as the Global Safety Director at McDonald’s and a deep commitment to food safety initiatives. We are confident Bizhan will bring valuable expertise and leadership alongside Lindsay to the GFSI EMEA local group.
“It is with great pride that I accept the role of co-Chair for the Retail half of the EMEA region local group to support the GFSI Steerco in delivering its business plan of Race to the Top. I look forward to working with prominent members in the food industry to drive advancement in harmonisation and collaboration between GFSI, retailers, CPOs, ABs and others,” says Bizhan.
Lindsay adds, “I have the great privilege as co-Chair for Manufacturing. As a local group we have a vast array of food safety experts all working together to understand how we can improve trust and food safety capability across industry. We are truly excited for Bizhan’s appointment and are looking forward to him bringing his depth of experience and knowledge to our local group.”
Bizhan’s appointment reflects our commitment to fostering collaboration and driving meaningful change within the GFSI Community. We encourage all members of the GFSI community to extend a warm welcome to him and offer support as we set out on this exciting journey together.
We would also like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to Caroline Easterbrook, while Head of Food Safety at Amazon, for her dedicated service and contributions as previous co-Chair of the EMEA local group. To execute its global strategy at a grassroots level, the GFSI Steering Committee collaborates with regional networks via the GFSI Local Groups. These groups serve as pillars in supporting GFSI’s endeavours to disseminate knowledge and advocate for a unified method in enhancing food safety across different regions.
Once again, we express our gratitude to the GFSI EMEA local group for their contributions and we look forward to the dynamic combined leadership that Bizhan and Lindsay will bring to our group.
For more information, please contact [email protected].