Lesaffre, a key global player in fermentation and microorganisms, announces the appointment of Ulrich Irgens as General Manager of its business unit dedicated to nutrition and human health, Gnosis by Lesaffre. In this capacity, Ulrich Irgens has joined the Group’s Executive Committee.
« We are extremely pleased to welcome Ulrich Irgens as General Manager of Gnosis by Lesaffre, our business unit dedicated to human nutrition and health. Thanks to his international background and impressive expertise, he will accelerate Lesaffre’s development in health care alongside with Gnosis teams, to best meet the expectations of our customers, partners and employees, while further illustrating Lesaffre’s mission: working together to better nourish and protect the planet,” says Brice-Audren Riché, CEO of Lesaffre.
“I’m very excited to be joining Gnosis by Lesaffre to support the development of Lesaffre’s Human Nutrition and Health business alongside all the Group’s teams. Having spent most of my career in the health and nutrition sector, I’m proud to be able to contribute to the development of this strategic business unit for Lesaffre, through a comprehensive strategy, focusing first on our innovation capabilities and strengthening our impact on people’s daily health» says Ulrich Irgens, General Manager of Gnosis by Lesaffre.
Expertise at the service of all human beings
A Danish Citizen, Ulrich Irgens has decades of proven experience on an international platform in managing the growth of health and nutrition businesses developed in different companies and most recently with Novozymes. He also has an excellent understanding of European, American, and Asian cultures, countries representing important growth markets for Gnosis.,
Ulrich takes the lead role at Gnosis by Lesaffre, a Lesaffre business unit founded in 2006 specialized in developing, manufacturing, and marketing active ingredients, nutritional yeasts, and biotics.
Since 2017, Ulrich has worked as Head of OneHealth business unit in Novozymes in Denmark. Previously, he joined Swisse Wellness as Executive Director of International Business, where he spearheaded the partnership with Procter & Gamble and worked on the sale of the business to Biostime. This sale resulted in the creation of H&H (Health & Happiness), one of Asia’s most prominent health groups today.
In 2008, he joined Danisco (Dupont) as Business Development Health & Nutrition Asia/Pacific, then Global Industry Leader/Sales Director ASPAC & EUROW Supplements & Pharma. Before Danisco, he worked for Lallemand Inc. for over 7 years.
With 9 billion human beings by 2050, ensuring everyone’s health and well-being is vital. Gnosis by Lesaffre, thanks to the expertise of its 450 collaborators, innovates every day to capture and cultivate the infinite potential of microorganisms to design innovative solutions. Gnosis by Lesaffre addresses 5 key health benefits: reproduction & women’s health, mood & cognitive health, digestion & gut health, mobility & joint health, and wellness & immune health.
With 3 plants (in Switzerland and Italy) and additional commercial operations in France, Italy, the United States, Switzerland, India and China, the 450 collaborators of Gnosis by Lesaffre spread across the globe work closely with their customers to meet their needs with 3 main solutions: nutritional yeasts, biotics and actives ingredients.