Organisational changes in Arla Foods

The decision-making process and execution time of Arla’s growth strategy will be shorter following a number of changes in Arla’s organisational structure.

Arla’s Executive Management Group (EMG), consisting of nine people, will undergo some significant changes as of October 1st. Two members will withdraw from their EMG posts, while two new members will be added. The rationale behind the changes is to shorten the route between decision and execution in order to deliver the growth and revenue required to achieve the target in Arla’s Strategy 2015 of reaching an annual turnover of DKK 75 billion.

The core markets of Sweden and Denmark play a crucial role in respect of these aims and this is reflected in the new set-up. Previously, these two markets were gathered in one Nordic business group (Consumer Nordic), which will now be dissolved, and Sweden and Denmark have now each been given Business Group status and a seat on the EMG alongside the third major core market, the UK. Between them, the three markets account for close to two-thirds of Arla’s turnover.

”The other members of the EMG will have a more direct dialogue with the leadership in Sweden and Denmark concerning the implementation of the strategy, and the two country managers will be able to influence important decisions that the EMG makes for the entire group. This will result in a better balance in the overall organisation and offer new perspectives for our strategic considerations,” says Arla’s CEO, Peder Tuborgh.

The two new business groups will be known as Consumer Sweden (CSE) headed up by Christer Åberg, and Consumer Denmark (CDK) headed up by Peter Giørtz Carlsen. Both leaders are appointed Executive Vice President and as such, join the EMG.

Andreas Lundby and Hans Åke Hammarström retire from the EMG
The changes reflect the decision of two members to retire from the EMG, Vice CEO Andreas Lundby and Executive Vice President with responsibility for the now previous Consumer Nordic, Hans Åke Hammarström.

”Some time ago, and independently of each other, Andreas Lundby and Hans-Åke Hammarström decided to retire from the EMG and devote more time to a number of tasks of critical value to the Group,” Peder Tuborgh says. “This has provided us with an opportunity to bring about the changes that we need to implement to achieve our current ambitions and face up to the challenges in the Nordic core markets.”

Read more about the new strategic roles for Andreas Lundby and Hans-Åke Hammarström

The joint Nordic functions will now either be moved to the national or the global organisations.

”We originally formed Consumer Nordic to exploit synergies in markets that to a large degree are driven by fresh products,” Peder Tuborgh says. “But fresh products are no longer a primarily Nordic affair. With core markets such as Germany and Holland offering a full range of fresh products, product development must be driven globally, while sales, production and logistics are driven nationally in close contact with customers.”

Management change in Finland
The third core market Finland will become an independent business unit reporting to Christer Åberg in the EMG.

The current head of Finland, Robert Ingman, has decided to step down from daily management with effect from December 1st 2011 in order to focus on the Ingman family’s business interests. He will be succeeded by the current Senior Director for production and logistics Reijo Kiskola.

Find CV and printable photos of management