Company Watch: Outgoing chief executive is leaving Dairygold in robust financial state

Jim Woulfe’s 42 years in the business included steering the co-op out of financial trouble when he became chief executive in 2009 and making major, but cost-effective, investments

Jim Woulfe, Dairygold chief executive, announced his retirement from the Cork-based co-op this week. Picture: Clare Keogh

When Jim Woulfe took over as chief executive in 2009, Dairygold had annual sales of €555 million, processed 838 million litres of milk a year and was mired in financial trouble from legacy property investments that had turned sour.

Today, Dairygold is the second largest dairy co-op in Ireland with annual sales of more than €1 billion and its milk supply has grown by 70 per cent under Woulfe’s tenure to a record 1.4 billion ...