andrew mcinnes lyndsey chapman

Andrew McInnes will lead Müller’s enlarged milk and dairy ingredients division once the acquisition of Dairy Crest’s milk business is complete, Müller UK & Ireland has revealed.


McInnes, currently acting MD of Müller Wiseman Dairies, will lead a team of executives drawn from the two organisations that will also include Dairy Crest’s Chris Thornton as FD, Mike Dicken as planning director, Laura Sheard as head of marketing and Kieron Mayes as head of doorstep delivery service Milk & More.

Müller has also appointed Lyndsay Chapman - currently Dairy Crest’s director of agriculture and farm communications - to the new role of agriculture director with specific responsibility for links with farmers.

“I believe this new leadership team will bring together the best blend of talent from across Müller Wiseman Dairies and Dairy Crest’s dairies operations,” said Müller CEO Ronald Kers.

The addition of an agriculture director reflected the processor’s increased scale, added Kers, with the post-acquisition Müller processing 25% of Britain’s milk production.

The appointment of Chapman was welcomed as “a positive move and a major step forward in developing strong producer-processor relationships”, said NFU dairy board chairman Rob Harrison.

“I’m really pleased they have seen the importance of creating an agriculture director,” he added.

While at Dairy Crest, Chapman worked closely with the dairy producer organisation Dairy Crest Direct, and Harrison was “hopeful Müller can help develop strong producer/processor relationships within the new [ownership] structure”.

Müller expects to conclude its acquisition of the Dairy Crest milk business by 27 December following recent regulatory approval from the CMA.