Jorge de Melo, who was vice chairman of Sovena’s board of directors, is the new CEO of the Nutrinveste group’s olive oil company, succeeding António Simões, as reported by the ‘Jornal Económico’.
Graduated in Management, and having also postgraduate degrees in this area, Jorge de Melo’s curriculum is associated to the consulting and management of large-consumption companies both in Portugal and in the United States. He has followed the previous CEO for 12 years and reaffirms his commitment to innovation and to product internationalization. “My commitment to Sovena is to take the olive oil farther and to provide a new momentum to this activity,” said Jorge de Melo in a statement.
Sovena assumes itself as the world’s largest olive oil company, holding the ‘Oliveira da Serra’ and ‘Fula’ brands in Portugal, ‘Andorinha’ in Brazil, ‘Soleada’ and ‘Fontoliva’ in Spain, and ‘Olivari’ in the US and other European, African and Asian countries. In 2017, it presented a sales volume of more than 200 thousand tons of olive oil and a turnover of 1.5 thousand million euros.
The international component accounts for approximately 80% of Sovena’s business. Although olive oil is the company’s strategic focus, its activities extend to the production and packaging of vegetable oils, biodiesel, preparation and packaging of table olives and olive groves exploration.
Sovena is physically present in seven countries – Portugal, Spain, USA, Brazil, Tunisia, Morocco and China – exporting to more than 70 countries. The group employs around 1,300 people worldwide.
