McCarthy has resigned as chief executive of Kerry co-op, which owns a 13.7% share in Kerry Group plc. He will continue in his role as CEO of the Kerry Group plc, which is valued at almost €14bn.

A spokesperson for Kerry said that this will not affect his position as CEO of the Kerry Group plc.

Despite farmer anger over recent milk prices paid by Kerry, a spokesperson for Kerry said that it will continue to engage with all shareholders and milk suppliers.

It is the Kerry Group plc that purchases and processes the milk on behalf of suppliers.

Shareholders’ interests

The co-op’s role is to represent its shareholders’ interests, which is primarily a 13.7% shareholding in the plc, according to the spokesperson.

He said that because of the historic relationship, Kerry Group has provided secretarial and executive services to the co-op down through the years. Kerry Group will continue to maintain secretarial services to the co-op, which it is understood to have been valued at close to €1m a year.

He added that Kerry would continue to engage with suppliers. The co-op’s share in the plc is currently worth more than €1.9bn.

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