Former chief executive of Arla Foods, Ash Amirahmadi, has today (Monday, April 15) received the RABDF Princess Royal Award.
Amirahmadi was formally presented with the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) Princess Royal Award in a ceremony at Gatcombe Park by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal.
On winning the award, Amirahmadi said: “When you join a sector and observe the huge names that are a part of it, you don’t ever really think beyond your role and your vision for the outlook of the product.
“To be recognised by my peers through winning this award is incredibly emotional. I never imagined I’d ever be close to becoming a ‘name’ as it was always something too far out of reach.
“It really is the greatest honour that can be awarded in the dairy sector and I will be forever humbled and grateful to have been recognised.”
Ash Amirahmadi
Amirahmadi started his career at Unilever, after graduating from the University of Nottingham with a mechanical engineering degree, before embarking on a 20-year career with Arla Foods where he became a “key figure in leading the dairy industry”, RABDF said.
Amirahmadi said the transition between Milklink and Arla Foods was his toughest, yet ultimately most rewarding experience.
“The decision to transition from suppliers to owners when Milklink and Arla Foods merged had so many positives, but building trust and confidence between the parties, and overcoming the obstacles the merger posed, were by far some of the most testing times of my career,” he said.
“I can now look back knowing that the success of the merger has created a strong cooperative in the UK market changing the narrative for good.”
Through his involvement as chair of the Dairy Roadmap Amirahmadi has spearheaded the work behind bringing the industry together to lead on sustainability to date, RABDF said.
He continues to be the chair of the Institute of Grocery Development and he also sits on the UK government board of trade and was awarded an OBE for his services to the dairy industry in the 2023 New Year’s Honours.
