Steve Francis steps down as Tulip CEO

Danish Crown has announced that Steve Francis is stepping down from his position as chief executive of Tulip as the business kicks off the next step of its turnaround programme.

Mr Francis was appointed as CEO of Tulip in September 2016. Since then he has led the company in the successful implementation of phase one of a long-term business transformation.

Under his leadership, Tulip has undergone a full restructure into four dedicated divisions – Tulip Agriculture, Tulip Fresh, Tulip Food Company (UK) and Dalehead Foods – and completely rebuilt its senior team, with around 50% of the top 60 directors and senior managers new to the business.

He has overseen the return to profit of the Tulip Food Company (UK) division, which is made up from the business’ food processing sites, while last year the business acquired Easey Holdings.

Danish Crown CEO and chairman of Tulip, Jais Valeur will take on the role of executive chairman of Tulip, working with the executive team in the day-to-day running of the business.

Mr Valeur said: “Steve leaves Tulip in a far stronger state than when he arrived and I would like to personally thank him on behalf of the Danish Crown Board for his outstanding contribution.

“Customer relationships are back to health and their confidence in our business has been restored. Employees are much more engaged in the strategic direction of the business and we have strong governance and leadership in place across all four divisions. And, critically, Tulip has moved on from recording significant weekly losses to much improved trading performance.”

He added: “We are now moving into the next, lengthier phase of Tulip’s turnaround programme, which is to rebuild the customer portfolio we lost over previous years and restore Tulip’s position as the UK industry leader.”