Corporate governance

Introduction

Hendrix Genetics was founded in 2005 and has evolved through organic growth, acquisition and the integration of leading genetics companies. We serve the animal protein value chain with genetic solutions in laying hens, turkeys, traditional poultry, swine, salmon, trout, and shrimp. Our organization has grown from a small family business to a global leader in animal breeding.

In order to lead forward and set the standard for sustainable breeding, we are anchored by a key group of shareholders, supervisory board members, and executive committee members.

Shareholders
Paine Schwartz and its affiliated co-investors, including Mitsui & Co. and Rabo Investments (the investment arm of Rabobank Group), now hold 50% ownership in the Company with Hendrix Genetics’ co-founders, Thijs Hendrix and Antoon van den Berg, holding the remaining 50% ownership position in the Company.

A global leader in sustainable food chain investing, Paine Schwartz Partners is a private equity firm focused exclusively on investment opportunities in the fast-growing, dynamic global food and agribusiness sectors. The firm's investment, operations and finance professionals invest throughout cycles across the food and agribusiness value chain, and bring a collaborative and active management approach to portfolio companies.

Supervisory board

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Thijs Hendrix, Président & Chairman of the Supervisory Board
Thijs Hendrix is a farmer and entrepreneur, as his father Harry Hendrix (1926-2010) and his grandfather Thijs Hendrix (1884-1954). Through Hendrix Genetics, a company he co-founded with Antoon van den Berg, he continues to focus on growth and consolidation opportunities in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, in animal breeding and life sciences.
LinkedIn

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Aalt Dijkhuizen
Aalt Dijkhuizen is a non-executive director and advisor for several notable organizations. Along with being a member of Hendrix Genetics’ supervisory board, he is currently a co-director for the Holland Center China, member of the Food & Agri Business advisory board, and chairman of the supervisory board for the Ploeger Oxbo Group.
LinkedIn

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Wout Dekker

Wout Dekker joined the Supervisory Board of Hendrix Genetics on May 1, 2022. After leaving his position as CEO at Nutreco, he served on several supervisory boards in the for-profit and not-for-profit sector, including Rabobank, FrieslandCampina and the Princes Maxima Children's Oncology Center. Currently, Wout Dekker is a member of the supervisory board of SHV Holdings NV, Pon Holdings NV and Randstad NV.

Kevin Schwartz

Kevin Schwartz

Kevin Schwartz has been an investor in the food and agribusiness industry for over two decades. He currently leads Paine Schwartz Partners as Managing Director and Managing Partner. In addition, he serves as Chair of the Paine Schwartz Partners ESG Committee, which allows him to take a truly differentiated approach to sustainable food chain investing, with a focus on developing positive impacts.

Over the years, Mr. Schwartz has served on the boards of many Paine Schwartz Partners companies, including Advanta, Costa, FoodChain ID, Seminis, Sunrise Growers, and Verisem, spanning the spectrum of upstream agricultural businesses and downstream branded food companies. He currently serves on the boards of Advanced Agrilytics, AgroFresh Solutions, Axiota, Lyons Magnus, SNFL Group, Suja and Urban Farmer. He is also a board member of the national non-profit organization Hope for the Warriors.
LinkedIn

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Spencer Swayze

Spencer Swayze is a managing director at Paine Schwartz Partners. He joined Paine Schwartz Partners in January 2017. Prior to joining Paine Schwartz Partners, he was an Investment Director in the Natural Resources Group at the University of Texas Investment Management Company (UTIMCO), where he helped lead natural resources investment activity across all asset classes, with a focus on agribusiness and infrastructure private equity. At UTIMCO, he was responsible for monitoring a portfolio of investments as well as sourcing, evaluating and executing new natural resource investment opportunities, including fund commitments and co-investments. Prior to joining UTIMCO, Mr. Swayze worked at Ceres, Inc, an agricultural biotechnology seed company, where he was Vice President of Business Development, responsible for strategic planning and deal execution. Prior to Ceres, he was a Venture Fellow Associate at PTV Healthcare Capital, a healthcare focused venture capital and growth equity fund. He also spent four years in sales at Merck & Co.
LinkedIn

Executive committee

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Antoon van den Berg, Chief Executive Officer
Antoon van den Berg is a business leader who founded Hendrix Genetics with Thijs Hendrix in 2005. He has served as CEO for over 16 years and has guided the company through its years of growth and construction. Prior to that, Antoon held various senior positions at Nutreco for 20 years.
LinkedIn

Richard Maatman

Richard Maatman, Deputy Chief Executive Officer
Richard Maatman has joined Hendrix Genetics as Deputy Chief Executive Officer on January 1st, 2023. He has graduated from Wageningen Agriculture University in 1993, where he obtained a Master’s degree in Animal Science with specialization in Animal Breeding. Richard has extensive international management experience in agribusiness, animal breeding and animal nutrition and has, from 2007 until today, held various senior management positions within Nutreco.
LinkedIn

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Raf Beeren, Chief Business Development Officer
Raf has been a long-time member of the Hendrix Genetics team and has delivered strong results for the organization and clients around the world. He most recently led the Turkeys Business Unit as Managing Director and prior to that, led the Swine Business Unit for six years. In his role as Chief Business Development Officer, Raf will be responsible for leading the business units towards operational excellence with a fully optimized organization.
LinkedIn

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Luc Claessens, Chief Financial Officer
Luc assumes this role as interim. He has extensive knowledge about this position and Hendrix Genetics after being part of our company from 2009 until 2018. In his role as Chief Financial Officer, Luc will be leading the organization to deliver sustainable bottom-line results.

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Johan van Arendonk, Chief Innovation & Technology Officer
Johan joined Hendrix Genetics in 2016 as Chief Innovation & Technology Officer. He has deep scientific roots in the field of animal breeding, genetics, and technology through his top-level positions, including Dean of Science, at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. In his role as Chief Innovation & Technology Officer, Johan will be responsible for research & development, the company’s sustainability program and innovation portfolio.
LinkedIn

Management committee

  • Antoon van den Berg, Managing Director Layers | LinkedIn
  • Alan Rickard, Managing Director Turkeys | LinkedIn
  • Lars Dall, Managing Director Swine |LinkedIn
  • Ji Chen, Managing Director Business Unit China | LinkedIn
  • Albert van Driel, General Counsel | LinkedIn
  • Peter Pluk, Director Human Resources | LinkedIn
  • Rob Kremers, Director Information Technology | LinkedIn
  • Jos Koopman, Director of Strategic Marketing | LinkedIn