New chief for Northern Ireland's Moy Park

Moy Park, Northern Ireland's biggest and most successful food business, has appointed a new chief executive in place of Janet McCollum, who has led the major poultry processor since 2014 and has driven sales to around £1.5 billion a year.

The management reshuffle follows the acquisition of Moy Park by Pilgrim's Pride of the US from Brazil's JBS food group last September. Ms McCollum had led Moy Park since 2014.

New chief executive Chris Kirke joins Moy Park, which is headquartered in Dungannon, county Tyrone, from the US division of the giant Greencore food business.

Pilgrim's Pride said Mr Kirke brings "more than 26 years of food industry experience, operational expertise, and a strong track record of customer engagement and business transformation in the UK and the US to Moy Park."

He most recently led the US division of Greencore Group plc, growing from $300 million to $1.6 billion through a mix of organic growth and acquisitions, transforming the business into a highly profitable, industry leader.

"The Pilgrim's team is excited to have Chris join us on our journey to realise our vision of becoming the best and most respected company in our industry," said Bill Lovette, President and chief executive of Pilgrim's Pride.

"His proven track record of delivering results for customers, and driving profitability in the UK and the US, will uniquely position the Pilgrim's European business platform for its next chapter of accelerated growth and innovation."

He added: "Janet was instrumental in establishing Moy Park as an unquestioned leader in the food industry in the UK.

"She has accomplished a lot and we are grateful for her more than 25 years of dedicated service and commitment to Moy Park.

"As she hands the reins over to Chris, I want to wish Janet the very best in her next endeavor."

The company has also announced the appointment of Flavio Malnarcic, former executive business director at Moy Park, as chief finance officer.