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The succession at the head of Ania should mark a change of presidency on both the form and the substance; but the building sites of the association remain the same. Succeeding Jean-Philippe Girard, who has held two terms, Richard Girardot was elected president of the National Association of Food Industries. This pure Nestlé product marks the return of the big groups at the head of the association after several years when it was led by an SME manager, Eurogerm, in this case. In addition to this difference in entrepreneurial culture, this succession should be marked by a significant change in form. Often with a rougher approach than his predecessor, the new president had already signaled himself by very clear positions vis-à-vis large retailers, not hesitating to take part Michel-Edward Leclerc, probably with the approval of its Swiss parent company.

Celebrating 50 years in a few days, Ania still faces the same challenges: combating the growing suspicion of public opinion and media towards agri-food industries, restoring the margins of its companies by rebalancing relations improve the dynamism of SMEs, restore the attractiveness of the sector's trades or, again, boost exports that are insufficiently conquering.

There is no doubt that Richard Girardot will not be long in specifying his lines of action and surround himself with a team of members to try to meet these challenges. Note that Ania has just renewed its strategic partnership with AG2R La Mondiale, sign another one with Mérieux Nutrisciences on the analysis of emerging food risks and health crisis management tools and to announce - in concert with Coop de France, FCD, Feef and Greenflex - strengthening the functionality of the Valorise self-assessment platform to simplify CSR exchanges between suppliers and distributors.