Kansas City / MO. (twnk) Hostess Brands Inc., one of the largest manufacturers and marketers of sweet baked goods in the United States including «Twinkies», «Ding Dongs», «Ho Hos», «Donettes» and a variety of new and classic treats, announced that its Board of Directors has named consumer packaged goods executive Andrew Callahan as the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, effective May 07, 2018. He will replace C. Dean Metropoulos, the Company’s Executive Chairman, who has been serving in the expanded role of interim President and Chief Executive Officer since March 31, 2018. Metropoulos will remain Executive Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors. Callahan was also appointed as a director on the Company’s Board of Directors.
Callahan joins the Company with more than 23 years of executive leadership experience serving in key consumer packaged goods industry roles at Tyson Foods Inc., The Hillshire Brands Company, Sara Lee Corporation and Kraft Foods Inc.
Dean Metropoulos: «We are delighted to welcome Andy to the Hostess team. He is a very accomplished consumer packaged goods executive with strong experience in leading brands and we welcome his leadership, brand and innovation expertise as we continue to further build our distribution and market share in the sweet baked goods category. We believe Andy has the right combination of entrepreneurial and strategic leadership and people management skills to lead Hostess into our next phase of growth and build value for our stockholders».
«I am honoured and excited to have the opportunity to lead the Hostess Brands team», said Callahan. «I have admired the «Hostess» brand and I look forward to working with Dean, the Board of Directors, our leadership team and employees to realize the growth potential of the Company».
Callahan previously served as Tyson Foods’ President of Retail Packaged Brands, managing Tyson Foods’ retail consumer brands, as well as President of North American Foodservice and International. Additionally, he was responsible for Tyson Pet Products Inc. Prior to that, Callahan served as President of Retail for Hillshire Brands during which time the company completed an initial public offering and then was subsequently acquired by Tyson Foods. He also served as Chief Customer Officer for Sara Lee Corporation North America, President of Sara Lee Foodservice Division, and General Manager of Jimmy Dean. Prior to Sara Lee, he spent 13 years at Kraft Foods in roles of increasing responsibility in marketing, sales, and general management. Prior to beginning his corporate career, Callahan spent seven years in the U.S. Navy as a flight officer. He earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the United States Naval Academy and an MBA from the Florida Institute of Technology.
