Swiss food-and-drinks group Orior has appointed former Migros executive Dr Peter Müller as its new CEO.
He will succeed Monika Friedli-Walser, who has been leading the company in a dual role for around a year, the company said in a statement.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
“Peter Müller is a perfect fit in many ways for our Orior,” said Friedli-Walser, chairwoman and Delegate of the Board of Directors.
“His many years of successful experience as a CEO along with his wide-ranging experience with transformation and restructuring projects and M&A transactions speak for themselves.”
The appointment takes effect from 1 September.
Before joining Orior, Müller held senior positions at Mibelle Group, formerly part of Migros.
He joined the business in 2015 with responsibility for operations and supply chain and was appointed CEO at the end of 2021.
Most recently, he was involved in the carve-out of Mibelle and its sale to Spain’s Persán Group.
Migros sold Mibelle in March last year as it sharpened its focus on its Swiss core retail activities.
Earlier in his career, he held several leadership roles at Cham Paper Group, where he ultimately became managing director.
In March, Orior opted to keep its ready-meals business following a review as part of its strategy reset.
Last August, the company announced it was weighing up options for Belgian-based Culinor Food Group, including a sale, under what it called at the time a “far-reaching” restructuring programme to reduce debt.
Alongside its annual results, the Swiss food and drink group said “all strategic options” for Culinor “were reviewed”. However, the listed company added “no value appropriate for Orior could be realised”.
In 2025, the company’s organic sales revenue fell 1.5% to SFr622.9m ($789.6m). Despite the decline, the performance was better than the 2-4% drop anticipated.
Net profit rebounded to SFr9.3m from a SFr35.1m loss a year earlier.
Orior’s international division, which includes Culinor along with Casualfood, Gesa and Spiess Europe, generated sales of SFr197.9m, down 1.3%.
In the convenience section, which features the Fredag, Le Patron, Pastinella and Biotta businesses, sales decreased 4.5% to SFr200.1m.
In March, Orior took full ownership of Italian fresh pasta manufacturer Pastificio Gaetarelli. It acquired the final 81% shareholding for a consideration in the “mid single-digit millions”.
Based in Salò on Lake Garda, Pastificio Gaetarelli supplies pasta to retail and foodservice customers.
