Ornua chief executive officer (CEO) John Jordan is to step down to take up a new role as chief operating officer (COO) at a US-based private equity company.
Ornua has said that the process of selecting a new chief executive will begin immediately.
The board has appointed current chief financial officer, Donal Buggy as interim chief executive to lead the organisation during the transition period.
Ornua Co-operative chair Aidan O’Driscoll said: “John Jordan has been an excellent chief executive for Ornua over the past five years, and prior to that he held several other key management roles.
“John has given a huge part of his professional life to Ornua, as he joined us approximately 30 years ago.
“It has been a privilege to work with him, and on behalf of the board, the executive and the rest of the team, I want to thank John for all his efforts and wish him the very best for the future.”
Interim CEO at Ornua
Donal Buggy has been CFO at Ornua since 2013 and the company said that he is widely known and highly respected by staff, customers and industry peers.
“The board and I are very confident in his ability to lead Ornua ably during the coming period. John Jordan will work with the board and Donal to ensure a smooth and efficient transition,” O’Driscoll continued.
John Jordan said: “It has been a huge honour for me to be the chief executive, and to have spent three decades working in this business.
“I am so proud of the positive impact that Ornua creates for its co-op shareholders and in turn for the 14,000 Irish dairy farming families that supply them and enable Ornua to create world-class premium products for our customers globally.
“I am confident that Ornua will go from strength to strength. We have great brands and a brilliant team.”
Jordan leaves the company at a time of falling global milk prices.
Earlier this month, Ornua confirmed that the Purchase Price Index (PPI) figure for the month of July was 121.3, down from 124 from the previous month.
At the time, the company said that that the PPI “reflects weak market returns and weaker demand through the month of July”.