Peter Lauritzen to head Arla's UK business
Group Executive Director Peter Lauritzen, who, for the past 13 years, has been responsible for Arla Foods' ingredients business, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the UK subsidiary Arla Foods UK plc. He has also been appointed Executive Director of the business group, Consumer UK, which besides the UK subsidiary, covers exports of Scandinavian products to the UK and the joint venture partnership with New Zealand's Fonterra.
Peter Lauritzen's initial tasks will be to integrate the UK subsidiary into Arla Foods amba and implement a series of investments and efficiency improvements following the parent company's recent acquisition of Arla Foods UK plc.
CEO Peder Tuborgh commented: "We face an important challenge in terms of maximising the potential opportunity in the amalgamation of the two companies and securing commitment and enthusiasm among our colleagues, farmers and customers to address the new challenges that we will face. Peter Lauritzen has a proven ability to bring people together and create results and I very much look forward to seeing the future developments of the UK company."
Peter Lauritzen, 58, began his career with Arla Foods in 1970 and is one of Arla Foods' most senior executives with extensive international experience. As Director of the Danya Foods' subsidiary in Saudi Arabia between 1985 and 1992, he transformed a loss-making business and created a sound platform for the Middle Eastern market, one of Arla Foods' key markets.
Peter Lauritzen subsequently assumed responsibility for the business unit, now known as Global Ingredients. Here too, he and his team achieved substantial success by turning a business that primarily produced and sold commodity milk powder into one of the leading players in the global market for specialised ingredients for the food industry, as well as retail packed milk powder.
In 2005, Peter Lauritzen was appointed Group Executive Director of Arla Foods and became a member of the Executive Management Group.
"Our UK operation is one of the cornerstones of our business and it is, of course, a very exciting challenge for me to have been offered the opportunity to head up the large-scale integration process and structural development that is ahead. This was an opportunity not to be turned down," says Peter Lauritzen.
As previously announced, Group Executive Director Kim Nielsen, who is currently responsible for Consumer UK, has decided to retire after 14 years as head of Arla Foods' activities in the UK.
CEO Tim Smith and Finance Director Nigel Peet, Arla Foods UK plc, have stepped down from their current roles by mutual agreement and are leaving the company. The board would like to thank them for their contributions.
Peter Lauritzen will announce his management team early next week.
Group Vice CEO, Andreas Lundby, will assume responsibility for Global Ingredients until a new Business Group director has been appointed.
Arla Foods UK plc is home to some of the UK’s leading dairy brands including Cravendale, Lurpak and Anchor. Processing approximately two billion litres of milk a year Arla continues to be one of the UK’s leading dairy companies and a supplier of fresh liquid milk and cream to the top seven retailers.
Over 2,500 daily deliveries are made directly to stores nationwide and Arla brands can be found across the dairy category. As well as the leader of the butter, spreads and margarine sector, and a major supplier of other added value products including flavoured milk and cheese, Arla continues to build working relationships with Arla Foods Milk Partnership, a unique group of dairy farmers, which supplies around 90 per cent of Arla's total milk requirements.
Behind this leading business is a team of circa 2,800 people across the UK located at our dairies, distribution centres and head office.