Until a suitable replacement is appointed, Randall Ennis, Chief Operating Officer for Aviagen’s global chicken operations, will assume direct responsibility for the European business. Randall is based at Aviagen’s corporate office in Huntsville, Alabama, USA, but will spend a significant amount of time at Aviagen’s European headquarters near Edinburgh.

Randall said: “Whilst we regret that Peter will be leaving Aviagen, I want to congratulate him on his new appointment. I would also like to offer my thanks to Peter for his outstanding efforts and achievements over the past three years as Group Vice President for Europe. During this time, Peter established a strong European management team who, I am confident, will be able to continue his good work and support me in the coming months. I am looking forward to working even more closely with our European Management Team and to continue to drive forward our strategic objectives in Europe.

We have successfully integrated our operations in the UK, Belgium, Hungary, the Czech Republic & Slovakia, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands and I look forward to continuing the strong growth we have achieved in recent years, particularly in Eastern Europe.

European customers, distributors, and suppliers can expect the continued support from Aviagen in day to day operations as the search for a replacement begins.”