Fresh fruit distributor Fyffes said its chief executive and chairman David McCann is to retire at the end of July after 34 years with the company.
David McCann joined Fyffes in 1986. In 1989, he was appointed as Managing Director of Fyffes Group operations, before becoming chief executive in 1995 and subsequently chairman in 2006.
The company said that Helge Sparsoe will join the company as CEO, while Tom Wada will take up the position of chairman.
Fyffes was bought by Japan's Sumitomo Corporation in 2017 in a deal worth €751m..
In a statement, David McCann said that it had been a privilege to lead Fyffes and to work with such a talented group of people over more than three decades.
"Today Fyffes is the oldest fruit brand in the world and a leading supplier of fresh produce, employing over 10,000 people," he said.
"I have greatly enjoyed working with everyone in Fyffes to build it into the major global fresh produce company it is today. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of my colleagues in Fyffes and Sumitomo Corporation great success as they chart the future course for this very special business," he added.
Fyffes was founded in London by food wholesaler Thomas Fyffe in the 1880s. It moved to Ireland a century later after merging with Fruit Importers of Ireland.
The company has operations in Europe, the US, Canada, Central America and South America and Asia.
Its activities include the production, shipping, ripening, distribution and marketing of bananas, pineapples, melons and mushrooms.
