Royal Canin UK & Ireland has appointed Jimmy Park as its new general manager. He previously held the position of general manager of Royal Canin Korea.

Since Mr Park joined Royal Canin Korea in 2012, sales have quadrupled and are expected to reach £69 million this year.

Hespearheaded a major strategy to penetrate the South Korean pet food market and create the new category of health through nutrition. He also played a pivotal role in securing investment to build Royal Canin’s Asia Pacific regional pet food manufacturing hub, which opened in September 2018.

Michael Kunze, Royal Canin’s regional president for Europe, said: “Jimmy has demonstrated strong business leadership in South Korea, where consumers are very sophisticated and technology savvy, but the pet food market is relatively emerging and fast growing.

“He will be instrumental in finding further growth opportunities in the relatively mature pet food market of the UK and Ireland.”

Mr Park said he was thrilled to join the European leadership team of Royal Canin.

He added: “Royal Canin’s role is demonstrating tangible health benefits for cats and dogs through nutrition and services everywhere in the world. Based on this philosophy, I’ll be focusing on rejuvenating pet owner reach in collaboration with vet and pet professionals.”