UK manufacturer 2 Sisters Food Group has appointed Ronald Kers, the former boss of dairy giant Müller, as its new chief executive to replace Ranjit Singh Boparan, who stepped down as CEO in February.

Upon relinquishing the CEO role three months ago, 2 Sisters owner and founder Boparan became president of the parent company Boparan Holdings. 

In a statement today (17 May) announcing Kers appointment, which will take effect on 1 June, Mr Boparan said the company had “started with our commitments to greater transparency”. 2 Sisters was embroiled in a food hygiene scandal last year over conditions at some of its chicken plants, which hit its profits after production was temporarily suspended.

Kers became global CEO at German dairy behemoth Muller in 2015 having helmed the UK division since joining the company in 2012. He has also previously served at Procter & Gamble.

“After 25 years as CEO, I am now taking on a broader leadership role as president of the BHL group, building on my entrepreneurial background and strengthening our financial position,” Boparan said in the statement.

“I am pleased that Ronald is joining 2 Sisters as CEO and we will benefit from his tremendous experience working in many of the world’s leading global food businesses. This appointment underlines our serious intention to do what we say we’re going to do.”

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The impact of last year’s investigations into hygiene standards at 2 Sisters has filtered through into 2018, with second-quarter profits to the end of January shrinking to GBP2.4m (US$3.2m) from GBP12.3m a year earlier. In January, Boparan raised GBP200m from the disposal of the Goodfella’s Pizza brand to UK frozen food group Nomad Foods, and in February announced it was exploring the sale of its Irish seafood unit Donegal Catch.  

“We have already started with our commitments to greater transparency, a stronger colleague voice, and simplifying a complex organisation,” Boparan added in today’s statement. ”Today we have reset our direction and we are focusing back on our core strengths and getting back to what we do best – delivering great value, great quality food for our customers. But there is so much more to do and Ronald can take the business performance to the next level.”

2 Sisters’ assets also include UK biscuit maker Fox’s Biscuits and Holland’s Pies

Kers said: “We need to build upon what we’re good at, think about new ways of working, and get better day-by-day, in a way that our customers – and our colleagues – can see clearly. Do this and you build trust and reputation among all stakeholders and fundamentally you become a much more successful business. It’s great to have been given an opportunity to play my part in helping to achieve this.”