Parsippany / NJ. (bgs) B+G Foods Inc. announced the appointments of Erich A. Fritz to the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer, Jordan E. Greenberg to the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer and Ellen M. Schum to the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer. All three appointments are effective March 11, 2019. The Company also announced that Vanessa E. Maskal, the Company’s Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing plans to retire on April 5, 2019.
Commenting on the appointments, Kenneth G. Romanzi, who currently serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer and, as previously announced, will become B+G Foods’ next President and Chief Executive Officer on April 6, 2019, said, «I am delighted that Erich Fritz has agreed to join B+G Foods as our Chief Supply Chain Officer. Erich is an industry veteran and a proven leader. In his role as Chief Supply Chain Officer, Erich will be responsible for our end-to-end supply chain from procurement to delivery to our customers, quality assurance, research + development, information technology and post-acquisition supply chain integration. Erich will partner with Bill Herbes, our Executive Vice President of Operations, and his team to continue to evolve our operations to become more efficient and effective.»
«Since our acquisition of Green Giant in late 2015, Jordan Greenberg and his team have done a tremendous job reawakening the iconic Green Giant through on-trend, «better-for-you» innovation and excellent brand marketing. Under Jordan’s leadership, Green Giant has returned to growth and has once again become a leading brand in the frozen food aisle. A long-time B+G Foods veteran, Jordan knows our entire portfolio of brands intimately and has excellent ideas to revive other brands in our diverse portfolio similar to what he has done to reawaken the Green Giant. As Chief Commercial Officer, Jordan will be responsible for marketing, strategic and annual planning, and delivery of the overall P+L for the Company,» continued Romanzi.
Regarding the appointment of Schum, Romanzi stated, «Ellen has been a successful food industry sales leader for many years. I believe she is an excellent choice to lead B+G Foods’ sales and customer service teams and continue to build on the successful customer relationships Vanessa and her team have built over the years. As Chief Customer Officer, Ellen will be responsible for all sales and trade marketing and be the key customer liaison for the Company.»
Schum joined B+G Foods in July 2018 as Vice President of U.S. Retail Sales. Prior to that, Schum served as Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing and then Chief Operating Officer of Schuman Cheese. Schum started her career in finance at Nabisco and spent 24 years at Nabisco and Kraft Foods in leadership roles of increasing responsibility, first in finance for 5 years, then in sales for 19 years, most recently serving as Area Vice President – East.
Fritz joins B+G Foods from Ocean Spray, where he served for nine years, most recently as Vice President of Research + Development, Quality, Engineering and Medical Research and before that as Vice President of Manufacturing + Engineering. Fritz has also held operations leadership positions at POM Wonderful, Naked Juice Company, balduccis.com and Michael Foods. Fritz began his career at Nabisco where he served for 19 years, including as Head of Operations for the Nabisco US Foods Group.
Greenberg joined B+G Foods in 1999 and has served in roles of increasing responsibility over that time, including as Vice President of Marketing and his current position as Vice President and General Manager – Green Giant. Prior to joining B+G Foods, Greenberg served in the marketing departments of Land O’Lakes and Alpine Lace.
Commenting on Maskal’s retirement, Romanzi said, «Vanessa has been a key member of the B+G Foods leadership team for many years and a great help to me as I assimilated into the Company over the past year, for which I will be forever grateful. All of us at B+G Foods will miss her valuable insights and experience and wish her well in her retirement.»
Commenting on Maskal’s retirement, Robert C. Cantwell, President and Chief Executive Officer of B+G Foods said, «Vanessa has been a very important member of our management team for almost two decades. Since assuming responsibility for our sales organization towards the end of 2006 (approximately two years before she also assumed responsibility for our marketing organization), B+G Foods’ net sales have grown from slightly more than USD 400 million to USD 1.7 billion, a compound annual growth rate of approximately 12.6 percent. Vanessa has played a key role in the integration of numerous acquisitions over the years. Vanessa has also provided outstanding leadership and has served as a mentor to countless employees. On behalf of the entire B+G Foods family, I would like to thank Vanessa for all of her hard work and dedication and wish her the best of luck in her retirement and all her future endeavors.»
