New Arla UK executive director

Group executive director Peter Lauritzen from Arla Foods’ ingredients business, has taken over the chief executive officer role of Arla UK from retiree Kim Nielsen.

Lauritzen has also been appointed executive director of the business group, Consumer UK, which, besides the UK subsidiary, covers exports of Scandinavian products to the US and the joint venture partnership with New Zealand’s Fonterra.
He joined Arla Foods in 1970 and as director of the Danya Foods’ subsidiary in Saudi Arabia between 1985 and 1992, he transformed a loss-making business into a sound platform for the Middle East, one of Arla’s key markets. In 2005, he was appointed Group executive director./
Nielsen’s departure comes at a time when Arla Foods is about to acquire full ownership of its UK subsidiary. “We’re facing a new chapter in the UK where the challenge is to create the UK’s best dairy company and integrate it into the Arla Foods Group. This will require a fresh outlook,” says Nielsen.
He joined Mejeriselskabet Danmark in 1971, coming from a position as responsible for financial management at Mejeriselskabet Vendsyssel. In 1990, he made a major career move when he returned from the UK to assume responsibility for the Group’s cheese division. Following the acquisition of the UK dairy company in 1990, he was appointed managing director of the company in 1993.