Syngenta Flowers appoints Edwin Zuidgeest as its new Head of Sales Netherlands and Belgium

ENKHUIZEN, Netherlands: Syngenta Flowers is delighted to announce that Edwin Zuidgeest has been appointed as Head of Sales Netherlands and Belgium with effect from 1 June 2021.

Edwin brings vast grower and horticultural experience that will support the company’s endeavor to serve growers with a value proposition that considers their challenges and ambition. After being a grower himself from early 2000, Edwin spent the last 15 years of his career at Royal FloraHolland where he worked closely with growers. In his new role with Syngenta Flowers, he will lead the Dutch and Belgium sales team and work in close collaboration with the company’s retail account management team.

Born the son of a grower and a grower of vegetables and flower plants himself, Edwin has deep roots in horticulture. He understands the industry challenges and the importance of keeping up with market developments. “What I learned at Royal FloraHolland is to help growers in managing a good business,” says Edwin. “Together with a team of people, we offered them an important service by helping them, among other things, further professionalise and convert the needs from the market into opportunities for their businesses. The market is changing rapidly, lines are getting shorter, developments must be anticipated more quickly, and there is consolidation among growers and their customers. Companies are becoming more specialised, and automation is becoming increasingly important in order to be able to respond quickly to changes.”

Syngenta Flowers’ Head of Sales for Europe, Olivier Clisson, is very pleased and proud to welcome Edwin on board. “Our goal is to bring a fit-for-purpose offer in terms of products and services. One of the main challenges is that there is not really one European market, but a sum of markets with their own particularities in terms of genetics, color mixes, product forms and so on. This is particularly the case for the Dutch and Belgium market, which includes highly specialized growers as well as a strong wholesale and retail influence, making it quite unique. The addition of Edwin supports bringing the right knowledge in retail and platforms to our business, which is really the missing link between the grower and retail chain, underlining our willingness to serve our customers in the best possible way.”