In the spotlight – A profile of our new CEO

Today launches a new era for The Vita Group as our new CEO Omar Hoek takes the reigns. With a successful career spanning over three decades across diverse industries, Omar brings a unique blend of cultural leadership, industry expertise, and a deep understanding of market dynamics to the helm of one of Europe’s premier providers of flexible PU foam.

His distinctly forward-thinking approach to leadership focuses on spearheading innovation, creativity, sustainability, and a customer-centric mindset which will underpin Vita’s growth strategy, whilst remaining focused on continuing with the group’s goal of prioritising safety.

Omar succeeds Ian Robb, who has stood down as planned from the CEO role as part of Vita’s succession strategy.

“I am delighted to be joining Vita, an ambitious company characterised by a distinctly entrepreneurial spirit. The outstanding team Ian has assembled here is a testament to his leadership and provides us with the platform to continue our expansion across Europe. Partnering with the team at Strategic Value Partners, I’m confident that we’ll jointly take Vita to the next horizon of growth, building in particular on the strong sustainability credentials of the business. These are exciting times ahead, and I’m excited to be getting underway.”

Omar’s career path has been diverse, spanning various roles across different continents. His journey has seen him manage global organizations across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, encompassing roles in Supply Chain, Product Management, Sales, Strategy, Procurement, OPEX, Six Sigma, M&A, organizational design, and P&L. This experience includes a two-year internship in Spain at Bell Textron, nearly 20-year tenure at Avery Dennison (the world’s largest packaging and lamination US multinational), and a two-year stint as Director at Newell in Geneva, focusing on the microfiber business. Omar also dedicated a decade to Ahlstrom, a prominent global speciality fibre company based in Finland, followed by four years at MATIV, a spin-off of Kimberly Clark, specialising in speciality materials in the USA.

Omar’s major interest is in the materials processing industry, a realm he has devoted two decades of his life to. Omar has had the privilege of overseeing a diverse spectrum of business segments, from packaging to healthcare to construction, and now, is venturing into the business of PU foam, creating and providing solutions to meet customer needs.

We look forward to working with Omar over the next period of The Vita Group’s journey.