October 6,  2020

 

Arla Foods announces departure of EVP

 


Arla Foods has announced the departure of Tim Ørting Jørgensen, executive vice president (EVP) of its international segment.


Jørgensen will leave the company at the end of the year to join Sysco, a Fortune 500 foodservice company in the United States.


He will be succeeded by Simon Stevens, senior vice president of Arla's MENA region.


Jørgensen has been with Arla for 30 years and is a key leader in the development of the company's global footprint across both the retail and foodservice sectors and the growth of its global brands.


Prior to his current position, Jørgensen led the expansion of Arla into Germany, Europe's largest dairy market. He was appointed as EVP of the international segment in 2016, taking responsibility for Arla's highest growth markets, working hand-in-hand with a network of joint venture partners across the Middle East, China, Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa to bring high quality dairy products to millions of consumers and develop robust local operations to serve these markets.


Jørgensen has also overseen the rapid growth of the company's Puck and Castello brands, alongside the preservation of the market leading positions of its Lurpak and Dano brands and its growing stable of licensed brands including Starbucks and Kraft. During this time, Arla has also successfully completed the strategic acquisition and integration of the Kraft cheese manufacturing capability in Bahrain, adding significant capacity to its most important international region.


Arla Foods CEO Peder Tuborgh said: "Tim has given extraordinary service to Arla and our owners over his long career with us and has been an important member of the executive team and a valued adviser to me personally. Dairy is a global market and under Tim's skillful leadership, we have delivered above expectations on the contribution of our international markets to the growth of our business. Whilst I am sorry to see Tim go, I am delighted for him personally that he is going to such a significant global player in the foodservice market."


Jørgensen said: "I am grateful to Arla, our owners and to Peder for the many different opportunities and experiences that I've been given over my 30 years with the company and to have worked with so many talented people. Working for a global dairy co-operative enables you to make a positive difference to the lives of many people as we provide high quality, affordable nutrition to millions and are able to cooperate with partners and governments to create jobs and put building blocks in place to grow local dairy production. It has been a truly remarkable and rewarding 30 years."


Jørgensen will be replaced by Simon Stevens, senior vice president of Arla's MENA region.


Stevens joined Arla in 2002 as UK sales director, before becoming senior vice president for sales and marketing.


In 2016, Stevens moved to the newly established Europe zone as senior vice president for commercial operations, overseeing sales and marketing functions and working closely with Arla's supply chain organisation. During this time, Stevens' focus was on creating regional growth engines across the brand portfolio and driving a digitalisation agenda across sales and marketing functions. In 2020, he moved to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, to lead the MENA business, Arla's largest region within its international zone.


Commenting on Stevens' appointment, Tuborgh said: "I am delighted to appoint Simon to the executive management team to lead the continued growth of our international zone markets hand-in-hand with our joint venture partners. Throughout his career at Arla, Simon has shown himself to be truly frontline obsessed, championing the consumer and customer in our decision making and actions. He has a high energy approach to leadership and a growth mindset that enable us to build on the strong foundations that Tim has built over recent years."


Stevens will start new role  on January 1, 2021.


- Arla

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