Boparan is to become president of Boparan Holdings Limited (BHL), the parent company of 2 Sisters.
The company said that a process had already been put in place to find a new CEO for 2 Sisters and it would consider both external and internal candidates.
Current chief operating officer Martyn Fletcher, who reports into the board, would be responsible for the operations of the business until a formal appointment has been made.
It has been a turbulent few months for Boparan, who faced the wrath of the MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee in October last year after an undercover press investigation by The Guardian and ITV News made allegations of health and safety breaches at the company’s West Bromwich plant.
Operating profit down
In December 2017, Boparan Holdings reported operating profit was down by 57.6% to £8.4M for the 13 weeks to 28 October 2017. This was followed by news of 900 potential job losses with the planned closure of three 2 Sisters poultry sites.
“I am fully committed to building a better, more transparent business, modernising our company and simplifying our operations,” said Boparan.
“I want to take a broader industry leadership role and concentrate more on the issues and challenges that affect not only our business, but also the food sector in general such as Brexit, social responsibility and sustainability.
“These changes are the right ones to make at a very important stage in our business’ history and they help secure strong foundations for future development and growth. These are further major transformative steps in a journey to build a better business with a world-class leadership team.”
Catalyst for change
Charles Allen, chairman of BHL, said: “Ranjit has spent 25 years of his life building a world-class food business. He has been a catalyst for change within the food industry, by challenging the norm and providing our customers and consumers with great service, great-quality food, and great prices.
“In his new role, he will be playing to his strengths, looking at new opportunities and reducing debt that will help take the business to new levels of success.”
