New Henkie Honka, New Chapter

This October, we’ll be saying a massive thanks to our chief chocolate officer. Wait, what? Yup, you heard right! And what better way to hear the gobsmacking news than straight from the man himself. Sooo without further ado, the floor is yours Henk Jan.

Dear choco friends,

We’re living in a crazy time. After a worldwide pandemic, we’re now facing a horrible situation in Ukraine. What I want to share with you is nothing compared to this.

After almost 12 years as Tony’s chief chocolate officer, this coming October, I’ll be handing over the baton and making way for Tony’s Chocolonely to flourish in an exciting, new chapter. This new chapter outgrows what I've liked most in my role; hands-on making impact as an entrepreneur.

It’s been one helluva rollercoaster – one I wouldn’t have missed for anything in the world. Leading this bold, mission-driven impact business has been an absolute honor. Looking back, I feel privileged to have worked with the talented team Tonys. I am proud of the impact we’ve made together thus far. And I feel excited about the impact that Tony’s will make in the years to come.

Tony’s is lucky to have a new CEO in Douglas Lamont and I am delighted to hand over to him – with his wealth of experience in scaling innocent drinks internationally, he’s the perfect person to continue to drive Tony’s Chocolonely’s mission. I’m confident that, together with Tony’s team, our vision of making 100% slave free the norm in chocolate is in good hands.

All that being said, I’m very much looking forward to continuing my involvement in Tony’s mission and growth as shareholder and advisor on the supervisory board.

I want to take this moment to thank the entire team Tony’s, all the cocoa farmers and partner cooperatives who’ve joined us on this journey, and all you Choco Fans out there who’ve loved our chocolate and shared our story. A big fat thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you.

And here’s to raising the bar for 100% slave free chocolate! Tony’s-4-life.

Choco cheers,

Henk Jan

It’s no secret that we’re crazy about chocolate, but serious about people. For more than a decade, Henk Jan’s boldly raised the bar on the issues of child labor and modern slavery in cocoa. He’s grown Tony’s from 1 million to 142 million (est) turnover. Now, working with close to 9,000 farmers and leading our 300 strong Tony's team, it’s time for him to take a different path.

Heck, we’re sure gonna’ miss him. Let’s face it, 11 years (soon to be 12) really is a looong time in changemaking choco years. But hey, we’re happy campers knowing he’ll be staying on as a shareholder and in Tony’s supervisory board.

On another crunchy note, we’re also stoked that Douglas Lamont will be taking up the reins as per October 1st, 2022 in delivering Tony’s mission. After all, he’s got 15 years of experience balancing purpose and profit as innocent drink’s Chief Squeezer under his belt.

So, let’s get cracking at making even more impact together in chocolate!