18 Feb 2015 SA exec shines at Canadian yeast giant Lallemand
Bill Nankervis, well-known in the SA food and bakery industries during his time at Anchor Yeast, was recently appointed executive vice president and chief operating officer of Toronto-headquartered Lallemand.
Nankervis has a BSc in mechanical engineering and started his career as an engineer in the chemical industry in South Africa and the UK (for ICI). In 1992 he joined Anchor Yeast in South Africa as operations director and subsequently director of the Bakers Yeast and Baking Specialties Business, which was the position he held when Lallemand acquired Anchor Yeast in February 2006.
He relocated to Milwaukee in 2007 to take on the job of leading Lallemand’s worldwide Ethanol Technology business unit (now called LBDS) and, in 2011, he resettled in France (Toulouse) to assume the leadership of the entire Specialties Division of the Group. He moved back to North America this past July in preparation for his taking on the role of Lallemand’s COO responsible for all business units and operations worldwide.
Lallemand has also announced that Antoine Chagnon will take over from his father, Jean, as president and CEO. Chagon snr has led the family-owned company as its CEO for the past 34 years. He will remain a board member and available to support the leadership team as one of its senior vice presidents and special advisors.
Before joining the family-owned firm 11 years ago to take charge of a newly-acquired yeast company in Passau, Germany, Antoine worked first at Audi,in Ingolstadt, as an engineer and then at Siemens, in Munich, as a management consultant.
In 2009 he returned to Montreal as head of the company’s Bio-Ingredients business unit. Two years ago he became COO of the Yeast Group which includes all the yeast operations of the company worldwide. Antoine has a B Eng in Mechanical Engineering, an M Eng in Industrial Engineering and an MBA.
He also is a certified baker having graduated from the Ecole de Boulangerieet Patisserie des Grands Moulins de Paris
About Lallemand
Lallemand is a privately owned Canadian company, headquartered in Toronto with its main administrative offices in Montreal. With 2,800 employees located in over 40 countries, it is active on all five continents and is a leading developer, producer and marketer of yeasts, bacteria and other micro-organisms serving the baking, winemaking, distilling, ethanol, beer, animal nutrition, human health, food, fermentation, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries.
For more information see www.lallemand.com