FDBusiness.com

Patrick Müller, CEO of Müller Milk & Ingredients (MMI), has stepped down from his role after a two year period which saw him lead a successful transformation of the business. He will continue to lead Müller UK & Ireland’s home delivery business Milk & More as CEO, becoming co-owner, and will also devote more time to his own family business where he holds board roles.

MMI is continuing to make substantial progress towards the completion of its turnaround with a strong board and a collaborative approach with customers and the supply chain. As part of its Project Darwin plan it has secured profitable commercial contracts, adjusted capacity, aligned milk supply to demand and taken out unnecessary cost.

Müller has confirmed that Jon Jenkins, formerly CEO of Allied Milling and Baking, has succeeded Patrick Müller at MMI, and is already in post and placing his focus on working with the MMI team to maintain the turnaround momentum by securing the sustainable cost structures required to ensure the long term success of the business.

Patrick Müller.

Patrick Müller will work with his successor to achieve a smooth transition for the next two months, ensuring that the business continues progressing towards a sustainable future. He sas: “A huge amount of work and very tough decisions have and continue to be required. But we are making very good progress and we now see a clear path towards a profitable and sustainable future.

“I have been deeply impressed and inspired by the relentless effort that our MMI and Müller colleagues have put into this turnaround and I am grateful to have worked with such a dedicated and talented team.

“I would also like to thank farmers and customers for their support and their contribution during my time as CEO. Britain’s love of fresh milk is very much alive and well and I believe that it can be secured for future generations if all three parts of the supply chain work together.

“But there´s still a lot of work to be done. One of the main challenges in the months and years ahead will be to establish the sustainable cost structures required to be successful as a private label business in the long term.”

Jon Jenkins joins the MMI business as one of the most experienced executives in the UK food manufacturing industry. During his 30+ year career he has worked with many of the country’s leading brands and businesses, most recently with ABF plc where over a 15 year career he led Allied Milling and Baking, its largest food business and Twinings, the branded tea business. In his prior career, he also worked on the Board of alcoholic drinks businesses Bulmers and Halewood and spent 11 years with Mars working across all 3 UK divisions.

Jon Jenkins.

At Allied, in a bakery market with many parallels to the dairy industry, and large scale operational challenges, he championed long term partnerships with major customers and successfully reduced its cost base to remain competitive in a market suffering from overcapacity and increasingly focused on own label. As Managing Director of Twinings UK and Ireland, he led the business through a period of sustained growth to a market leadership position, transforming its financial performance in the process.

At both businesses Jon Jenkins built an outstanding track record for driving long lasting and beneficial change to support their improvement and competitiveness whilst improving workplace culture, with Twinings ranked as the UK’s #1 FMCG company to work for five years running[1].

Jon Jenkins says: “It’s clear that strong progress has been made and that Patrick leaves behind an excellent board and team. I am looking forward to helping my colleagues at MMI to write the next chapter in its journey, and with their continuing commitment I know that we can secure a profitable and successful future.”

[1] Source: Great Place to Work Institute