IMO New Chief Executive of IMO Switzerland

New Chief Executive of IMO, Switzerland

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Peter Schaumberger as the new Chief Executive of the Institute of Marketecology (IMO), Weinfelden, Switzerland.                                  >> Deutsche Version



“With Dr. Peter Schaumberger, we have found a very capable person to lead IMO, Switzerland into the coming decade,” comments Elisabeth Rüegg. “Dr. Schaumberger has more than 25 years’ experience in the organic sector and has in-depth knowledge of the entire value chain of organic products, from production to processing and trading.” Ms. Rüegg has succeeded Dr. Rainer Bächi in his function as the Head of the IMO Institute, when he tragically died in a car accident earlier this year. In the future she will be concentrating on her positions as Trustee of the Bio-Foundation and as interim president of the Board of Directors of the IMOgroup AG.

Dr. Schaumberger (47), who will join IMO in the beginning of November 2010, is a well known figure in the organic agriculture sector, having held many key positions in the last 15 years. He gained his first insights into the certification sector when working as an inspector in the early nineties. Later, he was the Vice-President of Demeter International and Managing Director of Demeter Germany. Apart from the organic sector, he is particularly interested and experienced in areas related to health and Fairtrade. As a consultant, he most recently provided support to well-known international organizations and companies such as WFTO and UNDP. He has held positions as a policy advisor and lecturer in marketing, risk and supply chain management.

“It is an honour to be a member of the IMO team and to work with such a great diversity of people. IMO is a very successful organization with a strong international network, renowned for its high quality performance,” states Dr. Schaumberger. “My vision is to further strengthen IMO’s leading position as an active and service-oriented partner for quality assurance and to enhance its role as the cutting edge organization in the development of our sector.”

“On behalf of all the international companies of the IMO Group, we warmly welcome Dr. Peter Schaumberger and are looking forward to his inputs,” said Franz Augstburger, member of the Board of Directors of IMOgroup AG. “We are delighted to have such a high-level professional join IMO in this key position,” added Ute Eisenlohr from the IMO Decision Board, in the name of all staff members at IMO, Weinfelden, Switzerland.

About IMO: The Institute for Marketecology (IMO), Switzerland is one of the first and most experienced international bodies for the inspection, certification and quality assurance of sustainably produced products. IMO has been active in the field of organic certification world-wide for more than 20 years. Today, IMO is also renowned in the sectors of food safety, fair trade & social accountability monitoring, natural textiles, timber & forestry, fisheries & aquaculture and wild collection. IMO is a department of the Bio-Foundation, Switzerland and is based at Weinfelden, Switzerland. This is the lead office of the IMOgroup AG that has 9 full fledged international companies and more than 20 smaller offices, mainly in the developing countries. The IMOgroup AG employs more than 350 experts worldwide for the certification of operations in more than 90 countries.
(12.10.2010/ih)