Valeo Foods brings in 2 Sisters CEO Ronald Kers as new chief executive

Valeo Foods Group has on Monday announced the appointment of 2 Sisters Food Group chief Ronald Kers as its new group chief executive.

Kers succeeds Seamus Kearney following his decision to step back from a day-to-day leadership role within the business. Kers will take up his new role in the Summer.

2 Sisters, a subsidiary of Boparan Holdings Limited, said Kers has a notice period of six months and will remain with the business to ensure a smooth handover.

Kers has led a significant business transformation at 2 Sisters during the past five years as chief executive. He previously served as the UK chief of dairy major Muller Group, before taking up the role of group chief executive.

“In his time at both groups Ronald has developed a uniquely broad set of capabilities that span category, geography, and a deep operational skillset, which position him incredibly well to drive the next stage of Valeo Foods’ evolution,” said Nigel Walder of Bain Capital.

Kers said: “I’m thrilled to be joining Valeo Foods, and look forward to partnering with the team to help realize the ambition of building a scale and growing platform of multi-national food brands.”

Seamus Kearney has been the chief executive of Valeo Foods for more than 11 years, overseeing a period of exceptional growth and expansion of the group, including leading 18 acquisitions and transforming the Irish business into a true pan European leader in the food sector. The group's portfolio of leading food brands include Rowse, Kettle, Jacob’s, Batchelors, Barratt and Balconi, among others.

He will continue to serve the business as a member of the board of directors.

“Whilst my role is evolving in the business, I remain incredibly passionate and excited about the future for Valeo Foods and I look forward to supporting Ronald and the Bain Capital team in a different capacity and as a long-term committed shareholder,” Kearney said.

Boparan Holdings Limited said it has put in place a transitionary structure which will see its president Ranjit Singh Boparan managing the UK Poultry and Ready Meal businesses and chief financial officer Craig Tomkinson taking responsibility for all group functions, while the EUP Poultry and UK/ROI Pastry operations continuing to report into Kers.

All three will report directly to non-executive chairman Richard Pennycook, as the board uses this opportunity ‘to review the leadership and structure of the group’.

Richard Pennycook said: “The business remains focused and in good shape following the challenges of Covid, Brexit and continuing inflationary pressures. We are well placed to handle a smooth succession process in light of Ronald’s departure later this year.

“I would like to thank Ronald for his commitment over the past five years. He came here with a clear vision of what 2 Sisters should look like and how it should be run, and he has played a pivotal role in moving the business forward in the right direction. On behalf of the board, we wish him all the very best.”