January 5, 2010
In January 2010, Kevin Lane took up the position of Chief Executive of the IDB.
Former Global President and Chief Executive of the Kerry Group’s Flavours Division, Kevin had previously held a number of senior executive positions during his twenty-two year career within that company. For eighteen of those years he worked overseas, in markets as diverse as the UK, USA, Mexico and Canada, and accumulated extensive experience of the marketing of the Kerry Group portfolio in those arenas. He also managed a division of the Kerry Group’s Consumer Foods business in the UK.
An honours graduate (Sales and Marketing) from the University of Limerick, Kevin is a native of Brosna, Co Kerry. He is married with three children.
The Irish Dairy Board is the central export-marketing arm of the Irish dairy industry. Originally established as the semi-state organization, Bord Bainne (The Milk Board) in 1961, the Irish Dairy Board is one of the oldest and most successful indigenous multinational Irish companies. A commercial co-operative, the IDB is owned by Irish dairy processing cooperatives and dairy companies and, ultimately, by Irish dairy farmers.
A major international organisation, with an annual turnover of €2 billion, the IDB conducts business in over 90 countries throughout the world. Operating out of three divisions: Consumer Foods, Commercial & Food Ingredients and DPI Specialty Food distribution in the US, it owns the internationally established Kerrygold® brand, the Irish dairy industry’s most important marketing asset and Ireland’s only truly internationally known food brand.
The IDB provides the scale, scope, logistics and distribution expertise to enable a seamless and unified route to the global market for Ireland’s dairy products, reducing any cost duplication in the sales and marketing efforts of Irish dairy processors. Group subsidiaries in the UK, mainland Europe and the US, pack, distribute and market a wide selection of branded products, dairy ingredients, specialised grocery, delicatessen and gourmet food items of both Irish and non-Irish origin. The IDB is headquartered in Dublin and has 3,800 employees worldwide.