European Marketing Distribution (EMD) has announced the appointment of Maniele Tasca as the new President of the EMD Board of Directors. Tasca, who is a member of the Management Board of ESD Italia and Managing Director of the Italian Selex Group, will take over from Johan Neuman, who has served as President of the international trade alliance for the past four years. The announcement was made during the EMD Shareholder’s Meeting held in Amsterdam on Friday, 27 June 2025.
Tasca, 56 years old, is widely recognized as the driving force behind ESD Italia, which was founded in 2001 as a purchasing and marketing alliance. The group now comprises of retailers Selex, Acqua e Sapone, Agorà, and Aspiag, which hold a significant market share of 24.6% in Italy with 5,990 sales outlets.
On behalf of all EMD members, Tasca expressed his gratitude to his predecessor, Mr. Neuman, Director at Dagab in Sweden, for his outstanding leadership over the past four years. During Neuman’s presidency, EMD has experienced significant growth and success. Tasca then outlined the challenges that the organization will face in the coming years, stating that “Our platform will continue to offer suppliers and partners in the industry first-class opportunities to continuously expand their business with all our strong EMD members.”
Tasca had previously served as EMD President from mid-2017 to summer 2021.
In addition to Tasca’s appointment, Stephanie Lotter, Director at Globus in Germany, has been elected to the EMD Executive Board. Lotter, who holds a senior position at EMD member Globus Markthallen Holding, was praised by EMD Delegates for her contributions and expertise. She will join Franz-Friedrich Müller from Markant, José Maria Rodriguez from Euromadi Iberica, Boudewijn van den Brand and Johan Neuman from Dagab on the EMD board for the next two years.
EMD, headquartered in Pfäffikon, Switzerland, has been a recognized and efficient partner in the consumer goods industry since 1989. The organization develops and procures private label concepts for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) that are sustainable and highly efficient. EMD also supports and implements global partnerships with the largest brand manufacturers.
Including the associate member Lotte from South Korea, EMD’s member companies in Europe and Asia currently represent an external retail consumer turnover of approximately 200 billion euros in 16 countries.
The member and partner companies of European Marketing Distribution (EMD) are active in the following markets: Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Czech Republic, Portugal, Denmark, Slovakia, France, South Korea, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. Associate member Lotte is also active in the Chinese, Vietnamese, and Indonesian markets.
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Derick is an experienced reporter having held multiple senior roles for large publishers across Europe. Specialist subjects include small business and financial emerging markets.