Arbor Investments, (“Arbor”), a specialized private equity firm focused exclusively on acquiring companies in food, beverage, and related industries announced the appointment of John Jordan as Arbor’s first Chief Operating Officer.
To join Arbor, Jordan is stepping down as CEO of Ornua Co-operative, Ireland’s largest exporter of Irish dairy foods and ingredients with 10 business units worldwide, a global team of approximately 3,000 employees, and the flagship Kerrygold® brand. In 30 years with Ornua, Jordan served in a range of leadership roles key to the Co-operative’s success; during his five-year tenure as CEO, Jordan developed and executed a successful growth strategy, wholly restructured the business and its processes, and completed Ornua’s largest acquisition to double its U.S. Ingredients business. Prior to that, as CEO of Ornua Foods Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia, he developed and drove long-term strategies to grow Ornua’s brands regionally and expanded its private label presence with key retailers.
Jordan is a celebrated executive with deep experience across all business functions in the food industry. He also has long-standing ties to Arbor. Earlier in his career, Jordan served as CEO of DPI Specialty Foods, a leading wholesale distributor of specialty foods to U.S. retail and foodservice customers and a subsidiary of Ornua. Arbor purchased a majority interest in DPI in 2015 and named Jordan to the DPI board to represent Ornua’s interests. Arbor sold DPI to KeHE Distributors in June of this year.
Commenting on the hire, Arbor Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Gregory Purcell said, “We’ve known John for 10 years, we’ve seen him in action, and we’ve seen him under pressure. To add someone of John’s caliber to the team is a major coup. At Arbor, people make the difference and I’m confident John will be a tremendous asset – helping our Operating Partners and portfolio company CEOs execute our growth strategies and elevate day-to-day operations at our companies.”
“I have always admired the Arbor team, their focus and commitment to transforming food businesses. As a DPI board member, I had a front-row seat to the Arbor playbook in action. I’m honored and delighted to have been entrusted by Greg and Arbor leadership to be part of the firm’s next phase of growth,” said Jordan.
Carl Allegretti, Arbor president, highlighted Jordan’s food and operations expertise as a competitive advantage for the Arbor team, “As a former CEO, John knows what it takes to win. At Arbor, we have our tested playbook and after 25 years our team keeps getting better at executing that playbook. Bringing on a talent as strong as John is proof of our commitment to the continuous improvement of our organization for the future.”
Jordan officially joins Arbor Investments December 1, 2023.