The National Dairy Council (NDC) has appointed Mark Keller as strategic operations director.

Keller has over 25 years' experience working in international sales and marketing for multiple industries including dairy food ingredients, luxury tabletop and gifting, luxury retail, fast-moving consumer goods and telecommunications.

Keller held many senior leaderships and customer-facing roles within these industries and has built several partnerships across the UK and Ireland.

Commercial strategy

Spending over six years as head of sales and marketing at Dairygold, Keller was charged with delivering the commercial strategy following the abolishment of milk quotas in early 2015.

He was responsible for building a sales and marketing team to support customer acquisition, manage critical customer relationships and expand Dairygold’s market reach.

"Keller forged many relationships with key external partners and took part in several ministerial trade missions to the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, advocating the sustainable and nutritious benefits of Irish dairy, with particular focus on developing partnerships in China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Indonesia," the NDC said in a statement.

He also, the NDC added, drove key dairy nutrition projects promoting the grass-based diet and sustainability credentials for Irish dairy across multiple markets.

Challenges

Speaking following his appointment, Keller said that his experience in the dairy industry globally will equip him to drive the NDC forward into the future as challenges continue to face the sector.

“I am delighted to be joining the National Dairy Council as it continues to promote and protect the success of Irish dairy both at home and abroad," Keller said.

Mark holds a BA in English literature from Providence College in Rhode Island, USA, where he had been awarded a full athletic scholarship in track and cross country. He also holds voluntary support positions with Guaranteed Irish and Paralympics Ireland.