Capespan South Africa has announced a former Fresh Produce Exporters' Forum (FPEF) head will join the company in May as managing director. 

Stuart Symington will take over the position from Ronan Lennon, who has decided to step down from the role to pursue personal interests.

For the last three years Symington has been CEO of the the Perishable Products Export Control Board (PPECB), prior to which he served as CEO of FPEF for 10 years.

Lennon will remain part of the Capespan group on a part-time consultancy basis, focusing on strategic projects until his return to the U.K. early next year. The transition will include a comprehensive handover process, settling Symington into his new role.

Capespan Fruit CEO Leon van Biljon said Symington would contribute significantly to further develop and bed down the entity's customer-driven business model.

"As such, he'll drive buy-in, improved communication, alignment and customer focus. We appreciate Ronan's contribution to the Capespan South Africa business and wish him well with his future plans," he said in a release.

Capespan said it would continue to evolve its strategy and focus on the driving force of the business, namely to be successful at customer level, and more competitive at supplier level.

The release added Symington's extensive fruit industry experience was well-suited to further develop Capespan South Africa's strategy by building strong alliances, growing the business and providing guidance and leadership.

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