The Barry Callebaut Group, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, announced that Robert Kotuszewski will be appointed Managing Director for Malaysia, effective December 1st.

In this new role, Robert will provide leadership and direction to the operations and sales team in Malaysia. In addition to his country MD role, he will also assume the role of Vice President, Food Manufacturer (FM) for Southeast Asia (excluding Indonesia). Robert will be based in Malaysia and will continue to oversee the FM operations in South Korea and Pakistan and its regional Customer Service. He will relocate from Singapore to Malaysia in March 2022.

A home-grown talent having worked across regions for over 15 years at Barry Callebaut, Robert also has been an excellent alumni for a short time gaining external experience before coming back to Barry Callebaut over two years back. In his most recent role in Asia, he played a key role in the expansion of Barry Callebaut’s operations in Australia. He has also helped build a strong, dedicated, and highly engaged Customer Service team in Asia.

The new role is a testament from Barry Callebaut on its ambition to become the number one chocolate and cocoa manufacturer in Malaysia. The company serves international and local food manufacturers who use chocolate and cocoa products as ingredients in their consumer products, as well as artisanal and professional users of chocolate, including chocolatiers, pastry chefs and bakers as well as restaurants, hotels and caterers.

Today, Barry Callebaut operates a chocolate and cocoa factory in Port Klang and another cocoa factory in Pasir Gudang, Johor. The company also hosts its regional Customer Service, Finance and Research & Development operations in the country. Barry Callebaut started operations in Malaysia back in 2008 when it acquired KLK Cocoa, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad (KLK). In 2012, Barry Callebaut acquired Petra Foods’ Cocoa Ingredients Division and integrated its cocoa factory in Pasir Gudang into its footprint.

Source: Barry Callebaut Asia Pacific