Harold Poelma – Former CEO

Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate

Harold Poelma is of Dutch nationality, born in Eindhoven in 1962. After receiving his MSc degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Science at the Eindhoven University, he joined Cargill in the Netherlands in 1987. During his 36 years career at Cargill, he worked in the Netherlands, the United States and Spain in commercial, trading and risk management and in general management roles. He has worked in the cocoa and chocolate business since 2001. In his last role at Cargill he was president of Cargill’s global cocoa and chocolate activities. Harold served as a board member for the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) and the European Cocoa Association (ECA). From 2020 till 2022 he served as the chair of the ECA board. He retired from Cargill in June of 2023. Since November 2023, Harold has worked in an advisory role to ECA and ICE, as the industry prepares for the upcoming EU Deforestation Regulation.