The board of Ornua has announced the appointment of John Jordan as chief executive designate.

As of June 30, John Jordan will assume the role of chief executive where he will succeed Kevin Lane – who announced his resignation as CEO on December 12 last year.

Jordan is currently CEO of Ornua Foods Europe, Middle East Africa and Asia where he has successfully developed long-term strategies to grow Ornua’s consumer sales portfolio, according to the co-op.

His role includes the regional development of Ornua’s iconic brand portfolio – including Kerrygold and Pilgrim’s Choice – as well as working with Ornua’s retail partners to develop new opportunities in the private label sector of the market.

Jordan was previously CEO at DPI Specialty 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, where he was responsible for the strategic direction and development of the co-op’s brands portfolio. Preceding that position, he held a variety of senior commercial roles within the organisation – both in the corporate office and within international subsidiaries.

Jordan holds an M.Sc. in Business Administration from Trinity College Dublin, an M.Sc. in Environmental Resource Management from University College Dublin and a B.Sc. in Biotechnology from Dublin City University.

L-R: Aaron Forde, chairman of Ornua; with John Jordan, chief executive designate of Ornua. Image source: Keith Arkins

Welcoming the appointment, Aaron Forde, chairman of Ornua said: “I am delighted to announce John’s appointment as the next chief executive of Ornua. This follows a comprehensive selection process led by a board subcommittee.

“John will succeed Kevin at the end of June, facilitating an orderly transition at chief executive level,” he added.

John has proven leadership skills and brings to his new role a deep knowledge of the organisation, the industry it operates in and proven international executive experience.

“As chief executive, he will continue to develop and drive Ornua’s strategic agenda as per our five-year strategy – Ornua 2021 – which aims to deliver sustainable long-term value for Ornua’s members’ farmer base,” he said.

John Jordan, chief executive Designate of Ornua also commented, saying: “I am both delighted and very proud to be assuming the role of chief executive of Ornua Co-op. I look forward to working with Aaron Forde as chairman, the board of directors, the executive and the entire Ornua team across all of the international markets in which we operate.

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.

“With a strong platform of financial performance over the past few years and a clear articulation of strategy to deliver growth of €3 billion in revenues by 2021, I welcome the opportunity to continue to develop and build on the remarkable performance we have achieved thus far,” he said.