Our Team

In 1990 Henk Bles founded Bles Dairies Livestock, later he expanded his business with dairy consultancy and distribution for Semex in the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Russia, which also formed the basis for Bles Dairies Genetics. Henk Bles’ goal: ensure a strong and sustainable international dairy sector for today and tomorrow.

Rutger started his successful career at Nedap in 2004 and moved to Altagenetics as Country manager Benelux in 2016. With his extensive experience in the international dairy sector, we are confident that he will turn this challenge at Bles Dairies into a success and will be a great addition to our team and make Bles dairies grow internationally.

Abubakar Shaban, the National Sales Manager at Bles Dairies East Africa, brings 7 years of experience in the Kenyan Dairy Industry. He has prior work experience at Proctor & Gamble and Maxim Agri Ltd., in Kenya.

Driven by the challenges faced by Kenyan dairy farmers, he focuses on developing innovative solutions to maximize profitability and empower communities. His expertise includes management , genetic strategies, farm management advice, and nutrition solutions working the herds through the people. Abubakar’s Educational background spans Animal Health, Animal Nutrition, and Business Management.

Tsjalling is the General Manager of Bles Dairies East Africa. Prior to this role, Tsjalling worked with Arla Foods, starting off at their global management traineeship. With Arla, he has held managerial roles in Commercial & Business Development across the Middle East and North Africa Region. In January 2024, Tsjalling joined Bles Dairies in his current role, where he is driven to building sustainable and innovative dairy value chains while positively impacting the lives of farmers in East Africa. Tsjalling holds a MSc. in Financial Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Judith Kalya is financial administrator for Bles Dairies East Africa. Besides finance, she is also responsible for human recourses and procurement. This makes her a great and valuable team member. Judith is very dedicated in administration and keeps accurate book keeping of all events that are organized by Bles Dairies East Africa, such as sales of bull semen to dairy farmers, organizing trainings, field days and workshops.