THE US owners of poultry giant Moy Park have appointed a new head of the business.
Pilgrim's Pride, who purchased Moy Park in a £1bn deal in September, has named Chris Kirke as the replacement for Janet McCollum, who has served as CEO at the company since 2014.
Mr Kirke, who has 26 years of industry experience, has been appointed president of the poultry suppler and most recently led the US division of Irish food firm Greencore Group, driving up company revenue from $300 million to $1.6 billion.
President and CEO of Pilgrim’s Pride, Bill Lovette paid tribute to Ms McCollum for her years of "dedicated service and commitment".
"Janet was instrumental in establishing Moy Park as an unquestioned leader in the food industry in the UK," he said.
“She has accomplished a lot and we are grateful for her more than 25 years of dedicated service and commitment to Moy Park. As she hands the reins over to Chris, I want to wish Janet the very best in her next endeavor.”
Mr Lovette said the appointment of Mr Kirke positions Moy Park for its "next chapter of accelerated growth and innovation".
The company has also announced the appointment of Flavio Malnarcic, former executive business director at Moy Park, as CFO. Mr Malnarcic has more than 30 years of financial experience, including positions with Cargill and Tyson Foods.
Founded in Moygashel in 1943, Moy Park has grown into one of the UK’s top 10 food companies, Northern Ireland’s largest private sector business and one of Europe’s leading poultry producers. It has production sites in Dungannon and Ballymena in addition to a processing site in Craigavon, employing more than 6,300 across the north.
