New chief executive for food group

Mr Kers will be officially joining on June 1. He is the former global chief executive of Muller, the international food company, and he brings with him more than two decades of experience a companies including Nestle and Procter & Gamble.

He first joined Muller, which has operations in Shropshire at Market Drayton, Minsterley and Telford, as UK chief executive in 2012, leading the turnaround and transformation of the business, and was subsequently appointed global chief executive in 2015. He left last June.

Ranjit Singh Boparan, president of 2 Sisters parent company Boparan Holdings, said: “This appointment underlines our serious intention to do what we say we’re going to do. I am pleased that Ronald is joining 2 Sisters as CEO and we will benefit from his tremendous experience working in many of the world’s leading global food businesses. The last 25 years has been all about growing 2 Sisters. Today we have reset our direction and we are focusing back on our core strengths and getting back to what we do best – delivering great value, great quality food for our customers.

“We have already started with our commitments to greater transparency, a stronger colleague voice, and simplifying a complex organisation. But there is so much more to do and Ronald can take the business performance to the next level. After 25 years as CEO, I am now taking on a broader leadership role as president of the BHL group, building on my entrepreneurial background and strengthening our financial position.”

Mr Kers said: “2 Sisters is an incredible company and I am pleased to take over from Ranjit and write the next chapter of its success story, one which is often overlooked. Under Ranjit’s leadership this business has grown from scratch to over £3.2bn turnover and has 23,000 employees working across 48 sites in various countries. It will be a privilege to work with such a successful entrepreneur.

“Ranjit and his team have built some strong foundations here and all colleagues should never forget how we help feed consumers in several countries every day with quality, affordable food. That is something to be extremely proud of. We are already the largest food business in the UK but what I would like to do now is, with the help of all colleagues, customers and other stakeholders, transform the business from good to great to being the best everywhere we operate.

“We need to build upon what we’re good at, think about new ways of working, and get better day-by-day, in a way that our customers - and our colleagues - can see clearly. Do this and you build trust and reputation among all stakeholders and fundamentally you become a much more successful business. It’s great to have been given an opportunity to play my part in helping to achieve this.”

Charles Allen, chairman of Boparan Holdings, added: “Ronald’s reputation goes before him. He is a respected and admired global leader in the food sector and we are looking forward to him joining 2 Sisters as CEO. Ranjit has built an incredible business at 2 Sisters and set the bar high, but in Ronald we have found a highly capable successor who can build on 2 Sisters’ strengths and ensure the business is well placed to deliver long term sustainable value for all its stakeholders.”