Benoit Strauven is Floréac’s new CEO from the 15th of November 2021. Time for a brief introduction.
Wide-ranging experience and an open world view
After graduating from Solvay Business School, Strauven embarked on an international career in sales management and consulting. He then returned to Belgium to become CFO and CEO at Hoorebeke Timber and CEO at Matermaco – two B2B trading companies. These past two years, Strauven has been supporting CEOs and executive committees as an Executive Coach. As his career progressed, Strauven developed a particular affinity for working with family-owned trading companies.
“We feel both pleased and proud to have found a new CEO for Floréac. Benoit Strauven will secure the continuity of our management and reinforce our new dynamic and strategic focus ahead of the future”, Werner Krott, CEO of Floré PLC, comments.
Making life easier for garden centres and home-improvement stores
Strauven is the embodiment of our motto, ‘Innovating Horticulture Together’. His ambition is to keep on making life easier for garden centres and home-improvement stores through Floréac, by helping customers optimise their commercial and logistical tasks (or even relieve them of these entirely). From purchasing to distribution to the displaying of plants in shops: working together remains the key.
“Cooperation results in cross-pollination, new insights and surprising new directions. In the broadest possible sense, really: cooperation between the Sales team and the Logistics team, between our Belgian platform and its Dutch counterpart, and between plant nurseries and customers. Staying connected creates a sense of unity, makes us feel closer to each other. As partners, we can come up with solutions together. How can we, for example, help our customers develop a competitive range to offer to end customers? Or how can we maintain Floréac’s strong identity within Plantify Partners Europe, while simultaneously exchanging ideas and being open to cross-pollination?”, Strauven explains.
In addition to running Floréac, Strauven is also ‘co-CEO’ of a family of seven (with Lucy the pure-bred Weimaraner dog completing the picture!). When he needs to clear his head, he goes sailing or hops into his motorhome for a weekend in the Belgian countryside.
Want to know more? Read the full press release here