The J.M. Smucker Co. announced that Judd Freitag will assume leadership of the U.S. Retail Pet Foods and Sweet Baked Snacks segments, while Dan O'Leary, senior vice president and general manager, Sweet Baked Snacks and Pet, will exit the company, effective March 7, 2025.
The company has also announced the evolution of the leadership structure for the supply chain and manufacturing organizations to strengthen oversight and execution.
"The promotion of Judd reflects our commitment to the Hostess brand and taking the necessary actions to return the Hostess brand to growth, while continuing to deliver the Pet business," said Mark Smucker, chair of the board, president and CEO. "In addition, we are evolving the leadership structure of our supply chain and manufacturing organizations to ensure that we remain positioned to deliver best-in-class execution across our portfolio of brands."
As a part of the announcement, Freitag has been promoted to senior vice president and general manager, Pet and Sweet Baked Snacks, an elected officer of the company. Freitag has held a series of leadership roles within finance, corporate strategy and brand marketing, and he currently serves as the vice president, general manager and marketing for the U.S. Retail Pet Foods segment.
Freitag was instrumental in the turnaround of the company's U.S. Retail Pet Foods business. He will lead the advancement of the company's Sweet Baked Snacks strategy to drive growth for the Hostess brand including, delivering the base portfolio, expanding distribution, driving innovation, continuing portfolio evolution and establishing revenue synergies.
The company also announced the decoupling of its supply chain and manufacturing organizations to strengthen oversight and execution. Bryan Hutson will assume the expanded responsibility for the company's supply chain activities in the role of senior vice president, Information Services and Supply Chain. Hutson is currently an elected officer of the company and oversees Information Services, the Transformation Office, and Portfolio Operations. Randy Day is currently an elected officer of the company and will continue to have responsibility for manufacturing as senior vice president, Operations.
According to Petfood Industry's Top Pet Food Companies, J.M. Smucker is a leading producer, distributor and marketer of premium-quality, branded pet food and pet snacks in the U.S., Smucker runs processing plants in Decatur, Alabama; Lawrence, Kansas; and Buffalo, New York, U.S. Both a processing plant and distribution center are operated at locations in Topeka, Kansas, U.S., and Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. In addition to its own brands, Smucker produces and distributes private-label pet products and uses 16 co-packers and 12 re-packers in the U.S., Canada and Thailand.
Adapted from a press release.
