PAUL VERNON has been appointed as the new chairman of Dairy UK, replacing Dr David Dobbin, who has stepped down to retire.

Mr Vernon, who has worked with Glanbia for 22 years, said: "For me it is a huge privilege to be elected chairman of an organisation that puts itself at the forefront of representing the interests of one of the nation’s greatest industries.

"I can make one firm commitment without any hesitation, and that is that Dairy UK will spare no effort in fighting for the interests of dairy. We have massive challenges ahead of us, particularly in relation to Brexit, so there has never been a more important time to remind government and decision-makers of the relevance and importance of dairy," he said.

"Whilst Brexit might dominate the political landscape, we mustn’t forget there’s still work to do across a whole range of other key issues facing the industry, such as protecting and promoting the nutritional benefits of dairy foods."

Dairy UK CEO, Dr Judith Bryans, welcomed Mr Vernon and paid tribute to Mr Dobbin: “The Board and the executive team at Dairy UK would like to express their thanks to David for his dedication in guiding Dairy UK and the industry forward during his period as chair.

"We are lucky to be gaining another leading industry figure in Paul Vernon, to lead Dairy UK through what will be an extraordinarily busy and challenging period. Paul enjoys widespread respect and support across the industry and is an ideal successor to David."

Mr Vernon's newly elected vice chairs are Muller Milk and Ingredients managing director, Andrew McInnes, and Arla Foods managing director, Tomas Pietrangeli.