SEARCH: Global FSQA Director

Search overview

The company

Aryzta Europe (~€1.53B) serves major markets including Switzerland, Germany, UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, and Spain. The company is committed to being the preferred partner for in-store bakery, excelling across seven core categories; bread, rolls, croissants, pastry, savoury,American bakery, and buns.

Strategically anchored in customer excellence, category leadership, and sustainable performance, Aryzta’s transformation agenda emphasizes pragmatic leadership, operational rigor, and high-impact partnerships across its matrixed European business model.

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The search

Melium was retained to lead the Executive Search for theFSQA Director—a pivotal global role accountable for shaping and enforcing food safety and quality assurance (FSQA) strategy across Aryzta’s diverse business units. Reporting to the Group COO, this role required strong functional expertise, global leadership capability, and stakeholder finesse.

‍^{‍Focus Topics:}

Melium Consulting invests heavily to ascertain the foundations for success, with a clear understanding of the AS-IS and TO-BE states. From our initial consultation it was clear we needed to understand the following areas;

• Lead Aryzta’s group-wide FSQA function with dotted-line responsibility across sites and regions
• Ensure compliance with regulatory standards, customer requirements, and internal quality systems
• Embed a culture of proactive food safety, performance improvement, and cross-functional excellence
• Represent Aryzta’s technical leadership in external partnerships with major customers and suppliers

^{‍S-SCAP Tools Deployed}

• Enterprise-Wide FSQA Governance Audit
• Stakeholder Mapping: Operations, R&D, and Commercial
• Functional Leadership Benchmarking Across Europe
• Cross-Sector Talent Calibration (FMCG, Foodservice, Bakery,QSR)
• Competency Matrix for Global Quality Roles
• Cultural Fit and Change Management Diagnostics
• European Market Talent Heatmapping (Regulatory + Innovation)

^{Mutually agreed Search approach}

• Critical success factors and desired future state outcomes
• Competency matrix definition (Technical and Behavioural)
• Designed bespoke evaluation assessment from S-CAP inputs
• Value proposition creation to attract passive candidates.
• Project plan the process, stakeholder accountability, and route to success

Execution

^{Research & Outreach}

• Identified senior FSQA leaders across food, beverage, andbakery sectors, with experience leading across multi-geography, multi-site operations.
• Prioritized individuals with both technical depth and strategic scope, including customer-facing quality transformation, regulatory oversight, and site-level implementation expertise.
• Mapped senior candidates with
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  • Experience managing matrixed teams across Europe
   
  • History of leadership in FSQA during restructuring and organizational transformation
   
  • Fluent English; German language ability as a key advantage

Evaluation Criteria

• Depth in food safety systems (e.g. HACCP, GFSI, BRC), rootcause analysis, and customer engagement.
• High-impact team leadership with experience building andcoaching diverse technical teams.
• Ability to integrate in a “do-it,” pragmatic culture,balancing technical governance with executional pace.
• Gravitas to interface credibly with global retail and QSRclients while driving internal alignment with Operations, Commercial and R&D.

Phase 1

Strategic alignment with Group COO and HR leadership to define the FSQA Director’s impact scope, performance metrics, and succession risk zones.

Phase 2

Developed a value proposition tailored to Aryzta’s transformation narrative—focused on customer intimacy, product integrity, and operational resilience.

Phase 3

Evaluated candidates through structured interviews and leadership diagnostics, testing ability to manage ambiguity, complexity, and senior-level influence.

Phase 4

Final candidates were benchmarked via simulation exercises and functional scenarios to assess stakeholder communication and team development aptitude.

Result

Delivered a highly qualified shortlist within 5 weeks comprising global and regional FSQA leaders from the bakery, foodservice, and CPG industries. Each candidate demonstrated:

• Strong cross-border leadership track record
• Hands-on delivery of FSQA performance and compliance
• Executive presence to represent Aryzta externally and drive internal change

This appointment positioned Aryzta to accelerate its customer-first FSQA strategy, reinforce technical leadership in core markets,and align quality operations with its long-term sustainability and growth agenda.

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