DENMARK – Arla Foods amba board of directors have appointed former chairman of the Swedish Area Council and the Organic Committee, Helene Gunnarson as new vice-chairman of the corporative.
She succeeds Jan Toft Norgaard who was appointed new chairman of Arla Foods amba in May.
Helene, who has been a farmer since 1997, served as an elected representative in the cooperative since 2000 and in 2008, she became a member of the Board of Directors.
Norgaard’s appointment came after the former chairman Åke Hantoft announced his intention of retirement as Chairman of the Board in December 2017, and this was confirmed in May after he agreed the sale of his dairy farm in Ösarp, Sweden.
Åke Hantoft’s retirement follows seven years as chairman of Arla Foods.
Commenting on the appointment of the new vice-chairman, Jan Toft Norgaard said, “On the Board of Directors, Helene and I have worked closely together for 10 years and I know that we will complement each other well and be a strong team.
We will continue to focus on creating growth and a strong cooperative for future generations of milk producers together with the rest of the Board of Directors.”
The 49-year old Helene lives on the farm Snickerns gård, a dairy farm with 200 cows, in Tvååker, Sweden with her husband, Sven, and their two children.
“I am honoured to be appointed as vice-chairman of Arla Foods.
I look forward to continuing work on strengthening our position for the benefit of all 11,200 farmer owners across all seven countries,” said Helene.
The appointment was made on June 28 and both Helene and the new chairman, Norgaard will assume their positions effective July 2.
Arla Foods is an international corporative representing farmers from Denmark, Sweden, the UK, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
It’s known for its popular brands Lurpak butter and Castello cheeses and leadership in organic dairy products.
