DENMARK – Danish Crown has restructured its leadership and announced significant operational changes.
At a recent board meeting, the company finalized its new board of directors and leadership team.
Soren Skou was named chairman, with Daniel O. Pedersen and Ulrik Bremholm taking up the roles of vice-chairmen.
Skou expressed enthusiasm about the new team, emphasizing the diverse expertise within the board, which includes external members, owner representatives, and employee-elected directors.
“I look forward to collaborating with this highly capable board as we guide Danish Crown through the transformation already underway,” Skou stated.
The newly constituted board consists of 13 members, five of whom are external, five elected by the ownership group, and three selected by employees.
The owner representatives were chosen from the board of representatives, which includes 60 individuals elected at district meetings held in December.
This comes as it was recently reported that Danish Crown announced its decision to end its fresh meat retail operations in Germany due to unviable costs.
The company plans to close its Convenience division at the Oldenburg facility in northwest Germany by February’s end, affecting approximately 160 employees.
The Oldenburg facility has been a key site for packaging fresh meat for German retailers for over a decade, working alongside a bacon and deli processing plant in Oldenburg and a slaughterhouse in Essen.
According to Per Fischer Larsen, Danish Crown’s senior vice president, the closure is a response to the German market’s intense competition and high operational expenses.
“The costs associated with selling fresh meat to retailers in Germany are unsustainable under our current structure,” Larsen explained.
The decision comes amid broader challenges for Danish Crown, including a shortage of slaughter pigs and rising operational costs.
The company’s CEO has described the situation as a “crisis.”
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