Barney Kay has left his role as Pilgrim’s UK’s agricultural director, as part of an ongoing restructuring of the business.
Mr Kay, a former NPA general manager, joined the integrated pork business in November 2021, replacing Andrew Saunders. He moved from Sainsbury’s, where he was head of agriculture, having held a similar role with Tesco.
A spokesperson for Pilgrim’s UK confirmed that Mr Kay has left the business following an internal restructure and thanked him for his contribution to the agriculture team.
“Our revised structure reflects the need to become even more operationally focused in all areas of our organisation, including within our farming operations, integrating them even further into our overall supply chain,” the spokesperson said.
To support this, Fábio Brancher has been appointed to the new role of operations director – Agriculture, joining the business with 20 years’ experience in the global agricultural sector.
This latest move follows the appointment of Ivan Siqueira as president of Pilgrim’s UK in January 2022, succeeding Andrew Cracknell, who led the business for more than three years
Brazilian-owned food giant Pilgrim’s Pride moved into the UK pork sector when it purchased Tulip in August 2019. The business was rebranded to Pilgrim’s UK, which employs more than 5,500 people across 14 sites, and describes itself a leading producer of higher welfare pork globally, supporting more than 1,000 British farmers.
In November 2022, Pilgrim’s confirmed the decision to close its Bury St Edmunds and Coalville manufacturing sites, in a phased process while the transfer of products to alternative Pilgrim’s sites takes place.
The move came after the company’s latest Annual Report and Accounts revealed it recorded an operating loss of £16 million in 2021, on the back of the challenges facing the pig sector.