Gozour Holdings, a platform company of Citadel Capital, a leading private equity firm in the Middle East and Africa, has appointed Hatem Saleh as the new chief executive officer of its integrated dairy division.

Saleh, an industry veteran, will lead a new initiative to integrate Gozour’s dairy portfolio companies - including the dairy farm at Dina Farms, Enjoy, the Integrated Company for Dairy Products (Dina Farms fresh milk) and El-Misriyeen - into a single unified entity that will benefit from synergies and economies of scale.

An 18-year veteran of Proctor & Gamble, Farm Frites and Unilever, Saleh most recently held the post of managing director and GM at the International Company for Agro-Industrial Projects (Beyti), a leading Egyptian dairy producer.

“Hatem brings to Gozour a balanced mix of multinational and local experience in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. The impressive turnaround that he achieved in Beyti is a testament to his excellent managerial and technical skills,” said Ahmed Heikal, Citadel Capital’s chairman and founder.

“We welcome him on board and look forward to benefiting from his expertise,” he added.

Saleh, he said, also managed Beyti’s 2009 acquisition of IDJ (a joint venture between Al-Marae and Pepsico) and successfully integrated the two companies.

On his new role, Saleh said, "Gozour has, until recently, grown through acquisition. Our goal going forward is to focus on the integration of these compelling companies into a single platform that will allow Gozour to benefit from synergies and the complementary nature of our family of brands."

"The period ahead is about establishing the framework that will allow us to deliver very substantial organic growth," he added.-TradeArabia News Service