With a new organisational structure, Danish Crown will continue its comprehensive transformation, where increased valorisation, sharper market focus, stronger brands, and greater cost efficiency will form the building blocks of the Danish Crown of the future.
“We have established important milestones for our strategic direction that will position Danish Crown as a leading food company in Europe, creating greater value from our owners’ livestock, building stronger brands, and operating with a more streamlined business. This is an ongoing journey in which we will first create a competitive organisation and operational platform before moving to the next phase focused on our brands and our products,” says Group CEO Niels Ulrich Duedahl.
Danish Crown will place greater emphasis on Europe and reduce its focus on being a global player. At the same time, the ambition is to increase the share of owner-supplied meat that is valorised from approximately 25% today to 50% by the end of 2030.
The first major step is being taken now as Danish Crown implements a significant organisational change that will bring together seven of the company’s eight business units into a new integrated organisation.
“If we are to deliver on our strategic ambitions, the conclusion is clear: it cannot be achieved with our current organisational setup. We need to be able to drive change and execute effectively across the entire company, ensuring that every part of the business supports the strategy and contributes to maximising the value of every animal we receive from our owners,” says Niels Ulrich Duedahl.
The change builds on the organisational adjustments initiated in June, when Danish Crown’s Group Functions were brought together. Under the new structure, the currently independent business units Sokołów, Beef, Industry, Foods, KLS, UK, and ESS-FOOD will be integrated under a new global leadership structure with shared manufacturing, shared sales, and shared product development functions.
DAT-Schaub, which markets and sells by-products, will remain an independent business unit within the Danish Crown organisation.
“We are building an organisation based on a very clear principle: Danish Crown is one company. At the same time, the new structure represents an important step towards increasing our competitiveness,” says Niels Ulrich Duedahl.
The organisational change was communicated to Danish Crown employees on 2 October, and the company will now begin a detailed design process over the coming months. The new organisation is expected to be fully operational within six months.
As part of the new structure, the current Managing Director roles responsible for the individual business units will be phased out. Instead, the Global Leadership Team will be expanded, consolidating decision-making and accountability across countries and business areas.
In addition to Group CEO Niels Ulrich Duedahl and Group CFO Anders Aakær Jensen, the Global Leadership Team will consist of Karolina Henriksen, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) for Markets & Channels; Przemyslaw Gostkiewicz, Chief Product Officer (CPO) for Products & Brands; and a Chief Operations Officer (COO) for Manufacturing & Supply Chain. The candidate for the COO position has been identified but will be announced later this autumn.
Facts
The changes at Danish Crown are part of an ongoing strategic transformation running through to 2030, including the following key ambitions:
Increase the level of valorisation of owner-supplied meat significantly, reaching 50% by the end of 2030.
Focus on six defined core markets with a stronger European focus.
Significantly reduce the number of brands and develop a brand strategy built around fewer, stronger brands.
Become the cost leader in the European market, supported by the new organisational structure and previously announced cost reduction initiatives.