China Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd said on July 31 that Yang Wenjun resigned as chief executive director of the company and was replaced by Sun Yiping.

The Hong Kong-listed company said in a statement that Yang completed two terms as chief executive of Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy (Group) Co Ltd, the company's main operating subsidiary.

Mengniu also named Tim Orting Jorgensen and Finn S. Hansen as non-executive directors. The two hold positions in the top management of Denmark-based Arla Foods.

Sun was deputy general manager of Shenzhen-listed COFCO Property (Group) Co, a unit of COFCO Corp, which is a major shareholder of China Mengniu Dairy.

Industry experts said that Yang was the last of the Mengniu founders still in the company, so his departure is the beginning of a new era, in which the company will likely be controlled by COFCO.