Ornua has announced that it has appointed Cesar França as managing director of global foods.

In the role, he will be responsible for driving the ambitious growth plans for Kerrygold and securing its position as a global food brand.

França is scheduled to take up the role in September and will be based at the co-op’s global headquarters in Dublin.

He is replacing Róisín Hennerty, who recently resigned after a multi-decade career with the co-op.

Bill Hunter, who held the role on an interim position, will return to his position as finance director.

Previous roles

França, originally from Brazil, worked with Nestlé in various roles in Brazil, Mexico and Switzerland between 2006 and 2022, where he finished as global head of maternal, infant and toddler nutrition.

He joined veterinary services company Covetrus in January 2022 as global head of proprietary brands, a position he held until September of last year. He is currently self-employed.

Ornua CEO Conor Galvin welcomed the appointment, saying that “Cesar brings extensive global FMCG [fast moving consumer goods] experience to Ornua” and that the appointment “reflects the ambition we have for the Kerrygold brand and the critical role it will continue to play in creating value for the Irish dairy industry into the future”.

Ornau, Ireland’s largest exporter of Irish dairy products, has annualised sales of over €3.4bn, including the country’s most successful food export, Kerrygold butter.

That brand has faced increasing competition in the highly lucrative US market recently following the introduction of another grass-fed butter product supplied by Lakeland Dairies and packaged and sold by Vital Farms across the nation.