For 150 years, Arnotts has been a leading player in the food industry as one of the largest companies of its kind in the Asia Pacific region. It employs thousands of people, and exports products to more than 40 countries around the world including Japan, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Tahiti, and New Zealand. The business originated in 1865 as a small bakery in Newcastle supplying bread, pies, and biscuits to locals, and has since developed into a household name. It has spent more than $3 billion over the past decade purchasing raw ingredients and services from farmers and businesses in rural and regional Australia.
Despite being acquired in 1997 by the US-based Campbell Soup Company, the organisation is still proudly Australian, maintaining robust Australian manufacturing operations and holding a special place at the heart of Australian culture. To mark its special milestone birthday, Campbell Arnott’s is implementing a number of new strategies and innovative ideas aimed at building a strong connection with new generations of consumers, revitalising Arnotts, and propelling it towards continuing success in the future while still aligning itself with its traditional values and aims.
Ümit Subaşı was appointed President of Campbell Arnott’s Asia Pacific in November 2013. He is in charge of Campbells operations in Australia, South-East Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Turkey, Japan, and the Pacific. This includes Arnotts Biscuits and Campbells soup, stock, and beverages. Ümit previously worked for the German company Beiersdorf, which sells personal care products, where for roughly two years he was a member of the executive board as well as being in charge of emerging markets. The regions he covered included everywhere from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Turkey, and Russia to South-West Asia and India. Prior to that, he spent almost 18 years in the household goods industry with SC Johnson in a vice-president and zone director capacity, and before that he worked in the tourism industry. Ümit has always been business minded, and even started a small start-up travel agency with a close friend when he was fresh out of university.
