Dive Brief:
- Hain Celestial named several executive appointments for various segments of its operations Wednesday, according to a news release.
- The Hain Celestial United States unit saw the majority of new appointments: Gary W. Tickle as COO, Jerome "Jay" W. Erskin as chief supply chain officer, James "Jamie" F. G. Fay as chief customer officer and Leah Dunmore as VP of marketing for the Better-for-You Pantry segment.
- Hain also appointed James R. Meiers as CEO of Hain Pure Protein Corporation, which includes overseeing the Empire Kosher, Plainville Farms and FreeBird poultry brands and the company's protein business. Meiers will also maintain his responsibilities as Hain's COO, which includes managing the global Project Terra cost-savings effort.
Dive Insight:
Among the most notable of these appointments is that of Gary Tickle, who has been a veteran executive at Nestle, most recently including president and CEO of Nestle Infant Nutrition North America. In recent years, Nestle has taken a more health-centric approach to its portfolio and acquisitive growth, including naming a healthcare industry executive as its new CEO.
Hain Celestial has long been a leader in the natural and organic foods and beverages space. But approaching health-centric food specifically could take a different skill set than had by previous management. That could make a Nestle exec's experience invaluable to future growth initiatives.
These appointments also demonstrate that Hain is prepared to move forward from the financial reporting scenario that sent its share price plunging over the past few months. Due to reporting errors, Hain was unable to release its annual report, and the Nasdaq threatened to delist the company if it didn't submit a plan to regain compliance with submission requirements for its quarterly and annual financial reports. However, last month, Hain completed an independent investigation finding no intentional wrongdoing, which sent the company's stock soaring more than 13% that day.
The company has still yet to release its financial results. But with the audit complete and now this latest slew of executive appointments, it appears they are merely a formality as Hain looks to the future of the company's growth prospects.