Vienna/Berlin/Bern. Susanne Fromwald, 55, co-founder of Donau Soja and former Senior Advisor to the organisation, has been the new Secretary General of the Donau Soja Association since February 2024. Christoph Wiemer, 55, has been the new Managing Director of Donau Soja gGmbH Austria since December 2023. In this role, he succeeds Klaus Palmetzhofer, who has headed the GmbH for almost three years since April 2021. Matthias Krön remains President of Donau Soja and Dagmar Gollan remains Managing Director of the organisation. “With these new appointments, the executive management team of Donau Soja is complete. The association and Donau Soja GmbH complement each other to form an international organisation that will drive forward the protein transition in Europe even more strongly in the future”, says Donau Soja President Krön.
In her new role as Secretary General of the organisation, Susanne Fromwald will focus on the development of Donau Soja’s long-term strategies and political work. She is a founding member of Donau Soja and has worked for Donau Soja in various roles for eleven years. The molecular biologist is also an independent management consultant and mediator. Prior to this, she worked for many years at Greenpeace CEE and Lampert GmbH (Zurück zum Ursprung). She represents Donau Soja in various international organisations such as the Collaborative Soy Initiative (CSI), the European Non-GMO Industry Association (ENGA) and the European National Soy Initiatives (ENSI). She also manages the Protein Partnership programme as part of Donau Soja’s strategic partnership with the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) in CEE and SEE. “In my future role, I will focus on the strategic development of the overall organisation and its goals. My personal concern is to strengthen sustainable GMO-free soya cultivation in Europe for Europe – especially with our colleagues and partners in SEE and CEE”, says Fromwald.
Christoph Wiemer will be primarily responsible for expanding the Donau Soja certification programme to other crops and for B2B cooperation on plant-based protein products. He is therefore responsible for market development at Donau Soja. As such, he wants to establish the use of certified, deforestation-free and GMO-free Donau Soja and Europe Soya more strongly in the feed industry for chickens, pigs and cattle, especially in Germany and other European countries. The Donau Soja and Europe Soya labels are also to be increasingly found in plant-based foods such as tofu and meat substitutes in the European food trade. “Our certified soya from Europe will be in much greater demand with the implementation of the EU deforestation regulation from 2024. This will affect both animal feed for meat production and the booming market for vegetarian and vegan foods”, says Wiemer. German-born Christoph Wiemer studied food technology and oecotrophology. He joined Donau Soja in August 2022 and was previously responsible for developing new market strategies. Prior to Donau Soja, he worked in the food industry and, since 2008, at international TIC (Testing Inspection Certification) companies in strategic or management positions.
Dagmar Gollan, Managing Director of the Donau Soja association since February 2023, is looking forward to working with her two colleagues in their new roles. “The implementation of the Donau Soja protein strategy is at the centre of our daily work. By monitoring and participating in political processes, but also by continuously developing our quality standards, we are laying the foundations for the successful cultivation of protein crops in Europe. Together with our members and partners, we are working to establish important value chains for the protein supply in and for Europe”, explains the food science graduate.
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