Jennen recruited to run BOP arm of leading Euro testing company

Tina Jennen has been recruited by Eurofins Scientific. PHOTO/FILE

Eurofins Scientific, a Brussels-headquartered multinational involved in testing throughout the food production chain, has recruited Plus Group chief executive Tina Jennen to lead its Bay of Plenty business unit.

The opportunity was created by Eurofins' recent acquisition of AgFirst Bay of Plenty - now renamed Eurofins Bay of Plenty - a leading fruit maturity testing laboratory founded over 20 years ago by Ian and Diane Stevens.

Eurofins said the Bay of Plenty acquisition expanded its horticultural offering in NZ, where it also had food, environmental and soil testing operations in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

"It reinforces our footprint in the Asia-Pacific region," said chief executive Dr Gilles Martin. "This acquisition is consistent with our strategy of building leading positions in niche areas in the testing market, to ensure deepest expertise in a wide range of markets."

Eurofins Bay of Plenty provided independent kiwifruit maturity sampling and testing services and was also a leading provider of independent avocado maturity sampling and testing services. It provided numerous horticultural data-capture services to grower, packhouse and industry bodies, including Zespri and the Avocado Industry Council.

The Bay of Plenty acquisition provided the Eurofins group with a strong platform to support the high-growth kiwifruit and avocado export markets, said Auckland-based director Udit Singh.

Mr Singh, who formerly spent 14 years with AsureQuality, the state-owned enterprise food safety organisation, was recruited in 2012 to build up Eurofins' footprint in this part of the world.

"We've basically grown globally by acquisition and we are starting to consolidate the value chain for human health in the food, environment and pharma segments right through to clinical services," he said.

The Bay of Plenty acquisition was an important one because of the kiwifruit and avocado industry value chain and their importance to NZ, said Mr Singh.

"We are looking at growing our footprint to take that knowhow into other similar horticultural supply chains either locally or abroad."

Ms Jennen had a lengthy track record of working with startup companies in the region. She joined Steve Saunders' Plus Group portfolio of agri-tech companies three years ago, and was appointed chief executive a little over a year ago to work with the company on a step change process as it prepares to scale up its operations.

"Eurofins Bay of Plenty is very aligned with most of the work I have already been doing in the horticulture area," she said, adding that AgFirst had been working for some years with the Plus Group's Pollen Plus unit.

"This will allow me to work in a slightly different part of the value chain and be connected to a larger corporate that is acquiring business units globally."

She added that she would continue to be involved in leadership mentoring and education in the BOP business community.

Ms Jennen would be business manager of the Eurofins BOP business unit, and would work closely with AgFirst founder Ian Stevens, who had remained as managing director, during a transition expected to last until near the end of 2017.

Mr Stevens noted AgFirst's founders had been supported by a great team over the years. Many, including Brad Stevens, John Reeve, Rochelle Winchcombe and Les Taylor, had been with the business from its early days, he said.

"The existing team is looking forward to working with Tina, new recruits and the greater Eurofins group to add value to the horticultural sector here and overseas," said Mr Stevens

Mr Singh said that Ian Stevens had a wealth of knowledge.

"As Tina ramps up he will go into more of a consulting role until the handover," said Mr Singh. "There will be a little bit of overlap for a while as we consolidate our stakeholder needs in the short and medium term."

Plus Group managing director Steve Saunders said Ms Jennen had taken the Plus companies through a step change in systems from HR to accounting.

"She's done a great job and achieved our objectives in terms of repositioning us and also looking at our path forward and the capability gaps we needed to fill." Eurofins Scientific
• 25,000-plus staff in more than 250 laboratories across 39 countries
• Portfolio of 130,000-plus validated analytical methods for evaluating the safety, identity, composition, authenticity, origin, traceability and purity of biological substances and products