Omsco dairy cooperative announces appointment of David Williams as chief executive
Williams has more than 25 years’ experience of working in the dairy industry. This includes holding several board and senior executive posts in UK and European farmer-owned dairy cooperatives.
Williams held senior-level finance roles in Arla Foods amba: he is currently Arla’s global head of finance, members, milk & trading, based at its head office in Viby, Denmark.
Before joining Arla, he was the corporate finance and strategy director for UK dairy cooperative Milk Link, and prior to that was its finance director.
Neil Kennedy, chairman of Omsco said, “I am delighted to announce David’s appointment as chief executive of Omsco.
“He has proven leadership skills which are complemented by his having a deep knowledge of the dairy industry and a significant track record of working with leading farmer-owned dairy businesses. I believe the combination of both his dairy industry and co-operative experience makes David ideally positioned to lead the business as we enter the next phase in our growth and development.
“As Omsco’s new chief executive, David will oversee and drive forward the development of our value-added strategy based on investing in processing, products and brands. One which will ultimately help us achieve our core objective of delivering a sustainable, industry leading organic milk price for our members.”
Williams said, “Omsco has clearly made good progress in moving from simply being a broker of organic milk to establishing a strategic presence in value-added processing and more premium markets, both in the UK and overseas. The challenge now is to build upon these strong foundations and create evermore valuable and sustainable outlets for our members’ organic milk – a challenge I’m incredibly excited to take on.”
Omsco was formed in 1994 by five dairy farmers who created the UK’s first national pool of organic milk. Omsco is now owned by more than 200 members nationwide, produces more then 50% of the UK’s organic milk and has a global market for its dairy products and ingredients.
It is the largest UK organic dairy cooperative and the second largest dedicated organic milk pool in the world.
Omsco has established long-term, strategic partnerships with dairy processors including Yeo Valley, Wyke Farms and Organic Valley. Today, it supplies much of the UK’s organic dairy processing needs, including over 50% of organic Cheddar sales, and is Britain’s leading exporter of organic cheese, butter, raw milk, whey and specialist ingredients to the EU, US, Australasia and Asia.
