The executive offices down at Glanbia's head office on the Kilkenny ring road (or the half ring road at it is known locally since it falls well short or ringing the marble city) are certainly a much changed place from a year ago, with Ned Sullivan wasting no time in moulding the management team to his own desired shape.

An awful lot of the old Avonmore and Waterford bodies have gone and, with the exception of long-serving and highly-regarded finance director Geoff Meagher, most of the top jobs are going to senior managers that Ned Sullivan has brought in from outside.

The Glanbia boss is also clearly bringing in people he knows and trusts, with two of the most recent appointments, Robert Horvath and Kevin Toolan, both former colleagues of his in IDV, the drinks arm of Diageo. A background in the dairy industry is clearly no longer the prerequisite it used to be for a senior job at Glanbia - Ned Sullivan's requirements are clearly for senior managers with international experience in the branded food and drinks industry.

Robert Horvath faces probably the most challenging job of the four managers appointed this week, having responsibility for the group's entire British business. Glanbia may have extricated itself from the liquid milk business but it is still a sizeable player in cheese and processed meats.

Just like milk margins were squeezed to the bone by the multiples, it is much the same situation for the rest of Glanbia's business in Britain. and that pressure on margins will only intensify with the increasing consolidation in the retail trade and the arrival of US giants like Wal-Mart.