Creagh Native Heading Up Kerry Group USA

Oliver Kelly, takes the helm at Kerry Group North America

Oliver Kelly - son of Mary Kelly and the late Liam Kelly Creagh, Ballinasloe has been very recently appointed new CEO of Kerry Group North America - with a company he has served with distinction since his graduation.

Kerry Group has announced that Oliver Kelly will lead its North America operations from the beginning of this year. In a statement, the company confirmed that Kelly will take over as president and CEO of the division from January 1, 2022. According to the statement, Oliver Kelly has held numerous commercial and management roles over the past 30 years.

A native of Ballinasloe in Co. Galway, he joined Kerry in 1991 after graduating from University College Dublin (UCD) with a degree in agricultural science. He moved to North America from Ireland in 2018 after leading the company’s strategic growth in the food service channel for the Europe region. Oliver Kelly.

Previously Oliver was Vice President of Global Accounts for Kerry Group’s Ingredients and Flavours, EMEA Division. Oliver has more than 20 years’ experience in the FMCG industry working across numerous areas of the food and beverage portfolio and high end customer relationship management and development.

In 1994 Oliver relocated and was promoted to Sales Manager for the Red Meat business in the United Kingdom a position which he held until 1997 when he transferred to the Ingredients and Flavours side of the business to take up the role of Sales Manager for the Bakery division.

During 1998 Oliver was again promoted and took on the role of Director of Sales – Bakery for the UK and Ireland, a position he held for two years. In 2000 Oliver’s leadership talents were again recognised as he was appointed as General Manager for the Sweet and Cereal business. During his time in the role Oliver worked with many well-known names and brands to increase and enhance their relationships with the Kerry Group.

Commenting on the new appointment, Gerry Behan, president and CEO of taste and nutrition at the company, said: “Throughout his career, Oliver has demonstrated sustainable success in building and leading effective teams that fuel business growth for Kerry and for our customers. Oliver has also shown a clear passion for driving change and a personal commitment to promoting a more inclusive workplace within Kerry. I am looking forward to working with Oliver as we work towards creating a world of sustainable nutrition.” 

“Being able to be entrepreneurial with customers. Kerry constantly changes, but in a strategic and customer-focused way, allowing for exponential career growth is one of the best parts about working at Kerry” states Oliver.

Kerry is the among the world’s leading taste and nutrition companies for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical markets. It employs over 22,000 people across the world, including a global research and development team of over 1,100 food scientists.
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The company, which runs a €100 million innovation centre in Naas, Co. Kildare, has pledged to reach over two billion consumers with sustainable nutrition solutions by 2030.