Glanbia boss Siobhán Talbot leaves company in rude health

Glanbia group managing director Siobhán Talbot will step down later this year, having cemented the Kilkenny-based company’s pivot from traditional food business to purveyor of high-value nutritional products and world leader in the sports nutrition sector.

Along the way, she has presided over a near doubling of group revenue (from €3.3 billion in 2013 to €5.6 billion in 2022) and the company’s first billion-dollar brand, Optimum Nutrition.

Seeing the potential of the market, Glanbia acquired Illinois-based Optimum Nutrition, a maker of protein powders for gym goers, in 2008, having previously supplied it with whey, once a discarded byproduct of cheese making but now a multibillion-euro health product. On the back of the acquisition, Glanbia is now the biggest seller of sports nutrition products in the US.

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It reported record earnings in 2022 largely on the back of sales in the US. By any financial yardstick, Talbot’s tenure in charge will be viewed as a success.

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In 2012, 60 per cent of Glanbia’s earnings came from the higher value-add parts of the business. By 2022, this had morphed to 90 per cent, reflecting the shift in focus and the move away from traditional food commodities.

Part of this pivot meant jettisoning Glanbia’s former dairy business, which Talbot successfully brokered, partially in 2017 and fully in 2021 when the plc sold its remaining 40 per cent stake in Glanbia Ireland to Glanbia Co-op, its largest shareholder.

Fast-moving business

Eighty per cent of Glanbia’s business is now in the US, debunking the myth that Irish food companies tend to come unstuck stateside. It is reflected in the company’s recent decision to report its results in dollars rather than euro.

But nothing stands still for too long in the fast-moving food business.

Slimfast, the weight loss brand acquired for more than €300 million in 2018, has reported declining sales on the back of competition from new entrants and new products including the new Danish blockbuster weight loss drug Wegovy, presenting a new headache for Talbot’s successor, Hugh McGuire, current chief executive of Glanbia Performance Nutrition.

Group’s chairman Donard Gaynor described Talbot as a “deeply principled and values-driven leader” who reshaped the business and its culture. She’ll be a tough act to follow.