Ornua appoints insider John Jordan as new chief executive

Jordan will succeed longstanding boss Kevin Lane in June

John Jordan (right) appointed as Ornua chief executive designate. Pictured with   Ornua chairman Aaron Forde.
John Jordan (right) appointed as Ornua chief executive designate. Pictured with Ornua chairman Aaron Forde.

Ornua insider John Jordan has been appointed as the dairy group's new chief executive designate.

Mr Jordan, who currently heads up Ornua foods in Europe, Middle East Africa and Asia, will succeed current boss Kevin Lane, who is due to step down in June.

He was previously chief executive at DPI Speciality Foods, a division of Ornua and the third largest specialty food distributor in the US.

Prior to this he held the position of marketing director of consumer foods at Ornua, responsible for the strategic direction and development of the Ornua brands portfolio.

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Mr Lane, who has been chief executive of the State’s largest dairy exporter since 2010, announced his decision to step down in December.

Ornua chairman Aaron Forde said Mr Jordan, as chief executive would continue to develop and drive Ornua's strategic agenda as per our five-year strategy 'Ornua 2021', to deliver sustainable long-term value for Ornua's members' farmer base.

Mr Jordan said:“As we face into the challenges of ongoing market volatility, significant uncertainty surrounding Brexit and other areas of international trade, I am confident that Ornua is well positioned to manage all of this from a position of strength.”

The group is aiming to increase revenue to €3 billion by 2021 on foot of stong sales of its flagship Kerrygold brand.

Eoin Burke-Kennedy

Eoin Burke-Kennedy

Eoin Burke-Kennedy is Economics Correspondent of The Irish Times