Fred King, CFO, Perfetti Van Melle North America, will serve as interim CEO, until a successor is found.
Yuksek served as US CEO for five years before adding Mexico to his US and Canada responsibilities, before assuming the role of president and CEO.
“I have been both fortunate and very proud to spend the past 21 years working with such a great company and with so many wonderfully talented individuals. My colleagues, as well as our customers, brokers and consumers, made my role at Perfetti Van Melle both a pleasure and an honor,” he said.
The company saw double-digit organic growth under Yuksek’s tenure in the US and became a top five player in the confectionery market.
In 2017, Perfetti invested $11m to increase production in Erlanger, Kentucky, where it manufactures Airheads and Mentos products, and added 50 jobs to increase its workforce. It grew in personnel by 20% and now employs more than 360 people.
Privately owned Perfetti was founded in 2001 through the merger of Perfetti and van Melle Group. The company employs 18,000 employees worldwide and is one of the largest confectionery groups, manufacturing sugar confectionery and chewing gum products in more than 150 countries.
Perfetti van Melle USA reported a 2017 revenue of $500m. The group has corporate headquarters in Italy and the Netherlands.