Dairy cooperative Arla Foods has appointed a former General Mills executive, Markus Mühleisen, as the new managing director and group vice-president of Arla Germany, effective from today.
Mühleisen will be responsible for Arla Foods’ business in Germany and Austria and he will report to Peter Giørtz-Carlsen, executive vice-president and head of Europe at Arla Foods.
Mühleisen succeeds Winfried Meier, who will leave the company at the end of April 2018 as the result of a joint decision by Meier and Arla, according to the company. Until his departure, Meier will support Mühleisen to ensure a smooth transition.
Previous Experience
Mühleisen previously held international management positions with the food group General Mills, which produces brands such as Häagen-Dazs and Knack & Back.
Most recently he served as managing director for the company’s Northern Europe business, where he was responsible for the operations in the United Kingdom, Germany and Ireland. Prior to that, he was managing director for General Mills in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific region.
Before joining the global food group, the economics graduate spent eight years in a number of management positions at Nestlé Cereals in Frankfurt and Asia.
"With Markus Mühleisen, we will get a seasoned managing director onboard, who has led big food brands and teams to success both in Germany and internationally,” said Giørtz-Carlsen.
“Markus is a well-versed, culturally astute leader with an impeccable track-record in driving top and bottom line growth in challenging environments. He is perfectly suited to successfully advance our Good Growth Strategy 2020 in Germany.”
The group announced last month that it planned to invest over half a billion euro this year as part of its 2020 growth ambition, with a focus on larger and improved production capacities, as well as innovative technology.
Brand And Export
“We want to further accelerate our brand growth in Germany and expand the export business,” Giørtz-Carlsen continued. “In doing so, we rely on our strong portfolio of global and local brands and even more intensive cooperation with our retail customers and consumers.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank Winfried Meier for his considerable contribution to both Arla Foods and, prior to that, MUH (Milch Union Hocheifel). In the merger of MUH and Arla Foods, Winfried was a key actor in the successful integration of the two companies. More broadly his deep industry knowledge, his strong values and extraordinary energy have been essential to transform the business to where we are now, paving the way to ensure we continue to be successful in the future. So now is the right time for transition,” he concluded.
Arla Foods' retail and foodservice revenue in Germany was €1.29 billion in 2017.
The company recently reported a group revenue increase of 8.1% to €10.3 billion in 2017, driven by higher sales prices, increased branded sales, and a better geographical and product mix.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Kevin Duggan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
