In a move that has taken dairy sector by surprise, Rahul Kumar, who was heading Lactalis India, the Indian arm of the French dairy giant Lactalis, has resigned from his post after serving it for more than nine years. Kumar confirmed the development but did not divulge details about his next move.
Globally, Lactalis is the largest dairy group with an annual turnover of US $ 28 billion. It had entered India in January 2014 by acquiring Hyderabad-based Tirumala Dairy. It had appointed Kumar as managing director (MD) heading India operations. With Kumar as MD, Lactalis kept growing in India with more acquisitions in 2016 and 2019 when it acquired dairy business of Indian conglomerate Anik Industries and Mumbai-based Prabhat Dairy, respectively. In financial year 2022-23, Lactalis India had locked Rs 3,700 crore turnover.
Kumar was serving as MD of Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers Union Limited, popularly known as Amul Dairy, before he joined Lactalis.
Before joining as MD of Amul Dairy, where he worked for 11 years, Kumar was working with the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) that markets brand Amul, for 11 years. In all, his association with the dairy co-operative sector continued for 22 years. A dairy industry veteran of 31 years, Kumar has done engineering from IIT Roorkee followed by a post-graduation in rural management from Institute of Rural Management, Anand, founded by Dr Verghese Kurien.
