FDBusiness.com

Richard Williams (pictured) has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Müller Yogurt & Desserts (MYD) in the UK & Ireland. With over 20 years of senior experience in marketing, commercial and general management within the dairy and wider FMCG sector, Richard Williams joins from Saputo where he was Executive Committee Member and Vice President of its cheese business, responsible for all commercial functions.

A strategic business leader and marketer, he developed a turnaround strategy for its cheese portfolio, identified and unlocked new private label contracts and oversaw key network transformation initiatives.

Part of Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller, which employs over 32,000 people throughout Europe, Müller Yogurt & Desserts is responsible for major brands like Müller Corner, Müllerlight, Müller Bliss, Müller Rice, Müller FRijj and Müller Plant Based. It produces chilled desserts under licence from Mondelez International and also supplies the UK private label yogurt market from a dedicated, state-of-the-art yogurt facility.

Richard Williams brings significant experience working in the yogurt and desserts category. He was previously Business Unit Director for Yoplait Europe at General Mills and before that, he spent seven years in Danone’s US dairy division, which included four years as Marketing Director.

He said: “I can’t wait to meet the team and get started at Müller Yogurt & Desserts. It’s one of the most recognisable and loved brands in the UK, with an impressive private label business and products that are found in over half of the nation’s fridges. By working hard to be the dairy partner of choice for our customers and focusing on innovation, marketing, quality and sustainability, we are in a good place to continue our growth journey and help put a smile on the nation’s face.”

Dr Manfred Weiß, Group Chief Commercial Officer for Branded Dairy at Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller, said: “We are excited to welcome Richard to the team. Müller Yogurt & Desserts has restored momentum and we see huge opportunities for growth. With Richard in position, we are looking forward to fuelling category growth and driving more sales for our customers, which in turn benefits the whole supply chain.”