United Dairy Farmers, Inc. announces the retirement of Brad Lindner and the appointment of Michael Ahmed as new CEO

NORWOOD, Ohio, Oct. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- United Dairy Farmers, Inc. announces today that current President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Brad Lindner will retire from the Company along with the appointment of Michael Ahmed as its new CEO. Mr. Ahmed began in the role starting on October 20, 2025.

Mr. Lindner has spent over 47 years working with the Company his father helped to found including the last 27 years as President and CEO. He announced his pending retirement earlier this spring which initiated a search externally for a new CEO. "Starting in late 2024, we started to activate our succession plans related to leadership of the Company," Mr. Lindner stated. "This will be a significant shift for us as we transition from being a family led organization to one operated by non-owners with continued involvement and oversight from the Lindner family via our Board of Directors." Mr. Lindner will continue to be actively involved and lead the onboarding process for Mr. Ahmed before transitioning into the role of Chairman of the UDF Board of Directors.

Mr. Ahmed joins the Company from The Gorilla Glue Company where he served as their COO for the past five years. Prior to his stint at Gorilla Glue, he served in senior level roles with Tyson Foods /Advanced Pierre Foods, Kik Custom Products and Procter & Gamble. "Michael has a strong background in food manufacturing, supply chain, distribution / warehousing and logistics which were key criteria when we began our search," said Mr. Lindner.

"UDF has been a trusted name for over 85 years, built on family, quality, and community. It's an honor to join a company with such a rich heritage and strong foundation. Together we will build on that legacy – growing the brand, expanding our reach, and continuing to deliver the homemade quality and customer experience that make UDF special," said Mr. Ahmed.

Earlier this year, the Company celebrated its 85^th anniversary. "The last 10 years have seen phenomenal growth including the completion of a $25M investment project in the Company's Norwood ice cream plant, a brand new family bakery facility and the building/remodeling of over 50 stores across our footprint," said Mr. Lindner. "The timing for this change in leadership is right for a variety of reasons – namely the overall health and momentum within the Company. We've had consistent strong business results, have a great management team in place and our strategic plans continue to produce robust sustainable results."

About United Dairy Farmers, Inc.
Established in 1940 as a new concept to manufacture and sell dairy products, United Dairy Farmers today continues to be privately held and has 173 corporately owned convenience stores with a presence in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. While known for our retail stores, other UDF businesses include wholesale, food manufacturing including ice cream and bakery products, real estate, logistics, third-party cold storage (Cold Chain Integrity cciwarehouse.com) and petroleum transportation, UDF employs over 3,200 full and part-time associates. 

UDF provides award winning hand-dipped ice cream cones, shakes and malts as we were the first company to create Cookies N Cream ice cream with real Oreo cookies (homemadebrand.com). Extending our ice cream craftsmanship and heritage to food, we offer donuts and other baked goods made daily in our family bakery and freshly cooked, made-in-store hot food items including our new pizza with our bakery-fresh homemade recipe focaccia dough and breakfast sandwiches with our made from scratch biscuits.

Recognized for having one of the top loyalty programs (Newsweek Best Loyalty Programs) UDF is committed to creating a great guest experience program via our High Five service program. For more information, visit udfinc.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

SOURCE United Dairy Farmers, Inc.