Arla’s Chairman Announces His Retirement

After 19 years as a member of the Board of Directors and four years as Chairman, Ove Møberg, 63, has announced his retirement with effect from the next ordinary meeting of the Board of Representatives on May 26.

4/11/2011 --- After 19 years as a member of the Board of Directors and four years as Chairman, Ove Møberg, 63, has announced his retirement with effect from the next ordinary meeting of the Board of Representatives on May 26.

Commenting on his retirement, Ove Møberg says:

“2011 is an election year at Arla Foods and a new Board of Directors will be elected in May. I think this is the ideal time for me to go.”

Ove Møberg has headed up Arla Foods during a crucial period in the company's history.

In 2010, he and his colleagues on the board decided to retain Arla’s cooperative structure and spearheaded moves to establish a new capital model that required a considerable capital injection from the company's owners in 2010. The capital model is now firmly embedded in Arla's membership base - not least thanks to Ove Møberg and the Board’s efforts to establish a productive dialogue with cooperative members.

Most recently, in March 2011, the Board of Directors under Ove Møberg gained the full support from the Board of Representatives for the merger with the German dairy company Hansa Milch, which has resulted in German cooperative members becoming co-owners of Arla Foods.

"Although I’ve been involved for many years, the work has never been routine," Ove Møberg says. "Arla Foods is constantly developing and I’m proud of the company that we co-operative members have created.”

Since his election as Chairman in 2007, Ove Møberg has been committed to developing the partnership between Swedish and Danish co-operative members. Now he can look back on a period of strong Swedish-Danish relations – thanks to his insistence on transparency and dialogue. This has also formed the basis for the inclusion of German milk producers among Arla's owners.

Ove Møberg intends to retire completely from Arla Foods - both from his local district and from Arla's Board of Representatives.

Ove Møberg joined the Board of Directors in the then MD Foods in 1992. He was elected Chairman of Arla Foods in May 2007.