The Dealer is fascinated by the CEO movements in the dairy sector, especially around Dairygold.

Spare a thought for Dairygold’s poor chair, Seán O’Brien, who must have thought he would see out his tenure with a relatively young Conor Galvin at the helm as CEO, but alas, he has moved on after just two years in the top job.

Currently, Michael Harte is standing in and, by all accounts, is well-equipped for the job. I understand he was very close to securing the position when Jim Woulfe got the nod last time around.

The two other candidates on the leadership team who stand out as internal possibilities are Liam O’Flaherty, general manager of the agribusiness side of the house, and Eamon O’Sullivan, chief of operations.

Tim Healy was previously chief operations officer, but has retired.

O’Sullivan is a potential dark horse, a people’s person in the co-op mould. The affable Cork man is not long back with Dairygold after a sabbatical away from the co-op.

As for external candidates, I’m sure there are plenty keeping an eye on the position. It’s a co-op that is well set up, well invested and in the heart of dairy country – what could go wrong!