Irish dairy group Ornua has appointed John Jordan as chief executive to replace Kevin Lane, who announced his resignation in December.

Jordan is currently CEO of Ornua’s Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia division, overseeing the company’s Kerrygold and Pilgrim’s Choice brands. He was previously the head of DPI Speciality Foods, an arm of Ornua, and prior to that was marketing director for consumer foods at the firm.

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more

He will succeed Lane on 30 June, according to a statement today (13 April).

Company chairman Aaron Forde said Jordan will be responsible for seeing through Ornua’s strategic five-year strategy.

In 2016, the company introduced Ornua 2021 in the wake of the removal of EU milk quotas. The strategy aims to ”build sustainable and value-added routes to market for Irish dairy products” and to achieve revenues of EUR3bn (US$3.7bn) and an EBITA margin of 3%, according to it 2016 annual report. 

Ornua booked ”record” annual sales of EUR2.07bn in the 12 months ended in December.
 
Forde added:  “John has proven leadership skills and brings to his new role a deep knowledge of the organisation, the industry it operates in and proven international executive experience.  

GlobalData Strategic Intelligence

US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?

Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.

By GlobalData

”As chief executive, he will continue to develop and drive Ornua’s strategic agenda as per our five-year strategy Ornua 2021, to deliver sustainable long-term value for Ornua’s member-farmer base.”  
 
CEO designate Jordan acknowledged the challenges the company faces from Brexit.

“As we face into the challenges of ongoing market volatility, significant uncertainty surrounding Brexit and other areas of international trade, I am confident that Ornua is well positioned to manage all of this from a position of strength.

”With a strong platform of financial performance over the past few years and a clear articulation of strategy to deliver growth of EUR3bn in revenues by 2021, I welcome the opportunity to continue to develop and build on the remarkable performance we have achieved thus far.” 
 

Just Food Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Just Food Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact.

Excellence in Action
Winning five categories in the 2025 Just Food Excellence Awards, Centric Software is setting the pace for digital transformation in food and FMCG. Explore how its integrated PLM and PXM suite delivers faster launches, smarter compliance and data-driven growth for complex, multi-channel product portfolios.

Discover the Impact