The Chief Executive of Lakeland Dairies, Michael Hanley has announced his decision to retire at the end of this year.
He has held the position for 16 years but has worked with the co-operative for 36 years.
During his term as CEO, Mr Hanley led the transformation of Lakeland Dairies to become the second largest dairy processing co-operative on the island of Ireland, with annual revenues of €1.3 billion.
As Member Relations manager he spearheaded the original 1990 campaign that saw the merger of Killeshandra and Lough Egish Co-operatives to form Lakeland Dairies.
The co-operative has acquired and integrated various businesses since including the biggest ever dairy co-op merger in Ireland in 2019 – the combination of Lakeland Dairies and Lacpatrick Dairies.
Over the past decade, Lakeland has invested over €200 million in new facilities and technologies, increasing milk supplies and processing capacity to a record level of over 2 billion litres.
“Personally it’s the right time for me to make this decision, following on from the record annual financial results reported for 2021,” Mr Hanley said in a statement announcing his intention to retire.
“The Lakeland business is in excellent shape to pursue further growth and development, with the financial strength, the necessary resources and a highly experienced leadership team in place to continue the great progress that has been achieved collectively by all of us to date,” he added.
The group recently reported a 20% increase in revenues to a record level of €1.3bn for 2021.
Operating profit of €28.2m increased by 8%
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