COPENHAGEN — Anne Villemoes has stepped down from her role as VP of group communications at Danish Crown after a decade with the international food producer, one of Denmark’s largest companies.

Villemoes left her position at the start of this month to launch her own business as an independent consultant. Her departure comes after Jais Valeur arrived as Danish Crown’s new CEO last month.

During her tenure with Danish Crown, former journalist Villemoes became well known for her ability to build a more positive reputation for a company that has faced the ire of animal rights advocates. She told the Holmes Report that she will now "hope to get a chance to push other companies towards more edgy communication."

To replace Villemoes, Danish Crown has hired Erik Eisenberg, who joins at the start of January. Eisenberg arrives from APM Terminals in the Netherlands, where he had led communications since 2011. Prior to APM, former journalist Eisenberg oversaw internal and external comms at Dansk Supermarket from 2006.

"In selecting our new head of communication we have emphasised the combination of communication experience, international experience and management experience," said Valeur. "We have great confidence that Erik Eisenberg together with the united management team and employees will have the knowledge and understanding of the role and contribution of Danish Crown in the food industry exposed even wider and more profoundly among all target groups."

Danish Crown now has operations in 136 countries, counting 8,000 cooperative members and 26,000 employees. The company reported turnover of DKK 59n (US$8.7bn) for its 2015 fiscal year.

"It is a dream job being responsible for Danish Crown’s global communication – because the products are well known and consumed by millions of people and because the company is of vital importance to Danish export," said Eisenberg. "I have huge respect for the work that has already been done to develop Danish Crown’s reputation and brand and I am looking forward to working closely with the new CEO, employees and owners to go even further."