Checkout who is moving onwards and upwards in FoodNavigator-USA's latest new hires gallery, featuring PepsiCo, Tyson, Nestle Waters North America, The Jackfruit Co, KIND Snacks, ROAR Organic, PureCircle, Icelandic Provisions, Litehouse, BrightFarms, Butterball and more...
Laxman Narasimhan - formerly CEO, Latin America, Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa at Pepsico - has been appointed to the newly created position of global chief commercial officer; while Rene Lammers – currently SVP of category R&D, will take over from Dr Mehmood Khan as chief science officer following his retirement.
Paula Santilli, currently president of PepsiCo Mexico Foods, has been appointed to the role of CEO, LatAm; while Roberto Martinez, currently chief commercial officer for LatAm, has been appointed to the role of president, PepsiCo Mexico Foods.
And finally Jason Levine, former CMO at Mondelēz International, has joined hummus brand Sabra as CMO.
Nestlé Waters North America has hired David Tulauskas as VP and chief sustainability officer. Tulauskas most recently served as sustainability director at General Motors, and will report to president and CEO Fernando Mercé.
The Jackfruit Company – which is gaining traction as a meat alternative owing to the unripe fruit's 'meaty' texture when cooked - has hired Gordon Cooper as SVP sales & marketing, and Dave Yonk as VP finance. Cooper has held leadership roles at Larabar, Ancient Harvest, Lucy’s and Teton Waters Ranch; while Yonk’s resume includes stints at Boulder Brands, Conagra Brands and PepsiCo.
Sally Grimes, Tyson Foods group president for prepared foods, is leaving the company later this year when her successor is named and there is an adequate transition period. “We will retain an executive recruiting firm to help identify a successor and will consider both internal and external candidates,” said corporate spokesman Gary Mickelson.
Julie Daoust - previously senior director of research and innovation at plant-based protein specialist Vega - will serve as the new VP of product development and innovation at meal replacement brand Soylent.
“I’ve been watching Soylent from the sidelines since its crowdfunding debut,” said Daoust. “I truly believe that Soylent is the perfect platform for new food technologies to come to market and make real progress in bringing an end to food voids.”
Flowers Foods has elected COO Ryals McMullian to take over from Allen L. Shiver as president and CEO following Shiver’s retirement in May.
Former Campbell Soup executive Mark Alexander has moved into the yogurt aisle to take the helm at fast-growing skyr brand Icelandic Provisions, replacing outgoing CEO Steve Platt, who will retain an advisory position at the company. Read more HERE.
Low-sugar electrolyte-infused beverage brand ROAR Organic has hired ex-CORE Nutrition CMO Eric Berniker as chief marketing officer to help new president and COO Bart Silvestro deliver on founder Roly Nesi’s vision for the brand. Read more about ROAR HERE.
Eric Berniker and Bart Silvestro are also among new operating partners at investment fund AccelFoods. Other partners include Paul Eskenazi, ex-CFO of Beats Electronics; Paula Grant, CEO of design agency Flood Creative; and Chris Hickey, CEO of AccelFoods portfolio company, Kalahari Brands.
Mike Barkley - who recently held leadership roles at Pinnacle Foods and Boulder Brands - has taken over from John Leahy as president and COO of KIND Snacks following Leahy’s retirement.
Refrigerated salad dressing and dips maker Litehouse has promoted CFO and interim president Kelly Prior to the role of president.
Hydroponic farming specialist BrightFarms has appointed Steve Campione - who has 20+ years of experience in finance, operations and investment banking - as its chief financial officer. BrightFarms builds and operates greenhouse farms near major metropolitan areas to provide supermarkets with a year-round supply of locally grown produce.
Stevia specialist PureCircle has hired three new VPs: Former Naturex exec Aymeric De Gantes will serve as VP business development; former Roha Sciences exec Catalina Reachi Simon will serve as regional VP of North Latin America sales; and former Layn USA exec Chris Tower will serve as regional VP of North American sales.
Specialty nuts brand Diamond of California - which rebranded in 2017 and launched two new lines in 2018: Nut Toppings, and Heirloom Reserve Nut + Fruit Blends - has appointed food industry veteran Craig Hope, as CEO. Hope has worked at firms including WhiteWave Foods, Country Fresh, and Earthbound Farms.
Turkey products maker Butterball has hired Peter Brown as its chief operating officer. He replaces Jay Jandrain, who was promoted to the role of CEO in December. Brown - who brings 30+ years of executive leadership experience to the role – was most recently president and COO at seafood company High Liner Foods.
Oscar Goddijn (DSM) and Andrew Ohmes (Cargill) will serve as CEO and VP Marketing & Sales respectively, at Avansya, a new 50:50 joint venture between DSM and Cargill that will produce zero-calorie sweeteners through fermentation.
Christopher West has joined fruit & nut brand Nutty Goodness as CEO. West is the founder of operations consultancy and investment platform CSWESTINTL, which is merging with Canongate Capital, the parent company of Nutty Goodness.
We end our gallery with Bell Flavors & Fragrances, which has announced several promotions at its Northbrook, IL, HQ, including Khalid Akel to VP of manufacturing; Noreen Lally to VP of global regulatory; Christopher Warsow to director culinary applications and corporate executive chef; Robert Barrera to flavors–sr. Principal technical scientist, and Robert Schmehil to project manager.
