Meadow Foods appoints new CEO
Meadow Foods, supplier of value-added ingredients to the food industry, has announced the appointment of Raj Tugnait as its new CEO, which will commence in May 2022. Mark Chantler, the current CEO, will remain a key part of the leadership team with a seat on the board as a non- executive director and a significant shareholder.
Raj Tugnait will join the business in early April and will be officially appointed CEO from early May. Raj joins with more than three decades of senior experience in the food sector, most recently as CEO of Sysco Speciality Group, a division of one of the largest food businesses in the world. He started his career with an entrepreneurial family business before moving to Country Choice and then Brakes Group where he delivered growth in volume, profit and market share. He was appointed CEO of Fresh Direct Group in Sept 2016, before being appointed as CEO of Sysco Speciality Group in early 2020. Raj has spent 12 years on operating boards under two private equity ownerships (CD&R and Bain capital) and was a part of two successful exits for his shareholders.
Mark Chantler comments: “I feel immensely privileged to have led Meadow Foods in its transition from a family dairy business to the market-leading ingredients business we have today. The business now incorporates 6 divisions across 4 sites, 450 employees, 350 active customers and thousands of suppliers. Meadow Foods is stronger, more diverse and more financially secure than ever before and we feel now is the time for an experienced and entrepreneurial operator to lead us through this next phase of growth. I look forward to working with Exponent, Raj and the executive team going forward.”
Raj Tugnait comments: “After 23 successful years at Sysco, the excitement of applying my skills and working with a talented team to take Meadow to even greater success is the reason for me joining. I would like to congratulate Mark and Simon Chantler for building a successful business and Exponent for the opportunity. The company has excellent fundamentals and a plan for growth accompanied by a strong and aligned team focussed on innovation, quality, sustainability and continuous improvement and I look forward to taking over from Mark in May.”
Meadow Foods is a leading supplier of value-added ingredients to the food industry. The company employs more than 450 people across four BRC AA accredited sites in Chester, Peterborough, Holme-on-Spalding Moor and Dolgellau where they process more than 550 million litres of milk each year in the manufacture of value-added dairy ingredients. The business operates 7 days a week providing ingredients for some of the world’s best known food manufacturers and food service operators.