The Kerrygold owner has named Shane Henry as the managing director for Ornua Dairy Ingredients.
Ornua Dairy Ingredients will form a new global business unit within the wider Ornua Group and will bring together the firm’s member relations and services, dairy procurement, dairy trading and route-to-market activities into one dedicated platform.
In his new role, Henry will be tasked with the development of “strong, sustainable, and profitable” routes to market for Irish dairy products produced by Ornua’s member co-operatives.
Alongside his team, Henry will also lead the development and implementation of Ornua’s route-to-market commercial strategy, strengthen alignment with member co-operatives and drive the global performance of his business unit.
Henry will bring over two decades of senior-level experience to the role and has held a range of management, business transformation and implementation roles at Ornua over the last 25 years.
He most recently worked as managing director of Ornua’s Route-to-Market & Member Relations team and will now report to Ornua chief executive officer (CEO) Conor Galvin.
The Dublin-based group has also appointed Seán McHugh as its new head of global manufacturing and operational excellence.
Reporting to chief operations officer (COO) Jason Musk, McHugh will have responsibility for driving performance across Ornua’s global manufacturing footprint and establishing a standardised operational excellence programme.
Like Henry, McHugh is also a 25-year Ornua veteran and has held a number of management roles covering operational strategy and efficiency programmes across the group.
McHugh most recently worked as managing director of the group’s flagship butter production facility, Kerrygold Park, in County Cork. He simultaneously held the role of Kerrygold’s global head of research and development (R&D).
On the appointments, Galvin said: “The introduction of a more focused and agile global operating model is key to the delivery of our new and ambitious five-year growth strategy, which will drive value for Ornua’s member co-operatives and Irish farming families, while serving the needs of our customers across the globe.
“As part of these changes, I’d like to congratulate Shane Henry and Seán McHugh on their appointments to two newly created senior leadership positions. Both bring a wealth of experience and expertise to their important new roles, having held a range of senior-level management positions within Ornua over some 25 years.”
