Van den Bergh’s Turner joins KC

Simon Turner has quit as marketing director of Van den Bergh Foods to become Kimberly-Clark’s head of European marketing.

The new role follows the merger between KC and Scott last year. Turner’s title will be vice-president corporate strategic marketing, Europe. He will be based in Reigate.

It is believed that Turner had been unhappy at Van den Bergh for some time. But he says that since Unilever consolidated its businesses there was no possibility of promotion in the UK.

He joined the company in May 1993 and has been marketing director of the chilled division, which includes yellow fats brands Flora and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, as well as Peperami.

Before Van den Bergh he was with Coca-Cola, where he was UK marketing director from 1988 to 1990.

At KC he will head the Kleenex, Huggies, Cotex and Scottex ( as Andrex is known in Europe) brands, although each brand has its own marketing division with a marketing director.

Turner, who takes up the post in April, will report to KC president of Europe John van Steenberg. His replacement will come from within Unilever.