The CEO of Tulip Ltd Steve Francis, has announced he will be stepping down from his position. Steve Francis was appointed in September 2016, and since then has led the company in the successful implementation of phase one of a long-term business transformation.

Under his leadership, Tulip Ltd has undergone a full restructure into four dedicated divisions – Tulip Agriculture, Tulip Fresh, Tulip Food Company (UK) and Dalehead Foods.

It has also completely rebuilt its senior team, with around 50% of the top 60 directors and senior managers new to the business.

In a planned move following the successful completion of the first phase of the business transformation, Danish Crown CEO and Chairman of Tulip ltd Jais Valeur will take on the role of executive chairman of Tulip ltd.

Valeur commented: “Steve leaves Tulip ltd 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.

“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.”

He continued: “My role will be to work with the executive team within Tulip ltd to ensure we continue on the journey we have embarked upon ourselves and leverage for our customers all the opportunities we have through closer co-operation within the wider Danish Crown group, in order to deliver world class performance levels.”