Fontaine, who completed Agricultural Engineering studies at the University of Leuven, has held various jobs in the agriculture and horticulture sectors.
He started his career as a project manager and environmental advisor at Boerenbond, the association for farmers. He has previously worked as the director of various fruit and vegetable auctions.
VLAM said he has successfully rounded off a number of mergers and helped initiate the foundation of BelOrta, the cooperative of fresh fruits and vegetables.
He was recently interim CEO at EIT Food and is currently interim CEO at Lidwina, an adapted work enterprise in Kempen.
“Flemish agricultural, horticultural and fishing products stand out thanks to their quality, sustainability, transparency and efficient production,” said Fontaine.
“This should be communicated in Europe and the rest of the world.”
He said there were three major tasks for VLAM at an international level in the next few years.
Firstly, VLAM must consolidate existing core markets and open up new markets for Flemish exports, he said.
Secondly, the organisation must make smart use of its limited resources by using them as a lever in European subsidy programmes, among other things.
And thirdly, he said the organisation would increase the impact of its marketing programmes
“Giving our products the place in the spotlight that they deserve all over the world – we will aim for that together,” he said.
