Below a round-up of the latest additions spanning C-suite, marketing, sales and R&D at the likes of Aker BioMarine, iHerb, Kerry, Nature’s Way, Sabinsa and Supergut.
Bruce Brown joined Seraphina Therapeutics to lead the growth strategy for C15:0, the first essential fatty acid to be discovered in over 90 years. He previously held positions as vice president of supplements in North America at Kerry Group and president and COO at Natreon. Earlier in his career, he worked in the public sector serving communities in West and East Africa with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and The Carter Center. He is also Chairman of the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN).
Kerry announced the appointment of Oliver Kelly as group chief commercial officer and John Cahalane as president & CEO of Kerry North America. Based at Kerry’s U.S. Innovation Center in Beloit, WI, Kelly will also assume executive responsibility for global growth accounts and the organization’s global marketing team. Cahalane, who previously led both the Latin America and Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa Markets (APMEA) business at Kerry, succeeds Kelly and will drive business and innovation in Kerry’s largest market, with almost 6,000 employees and 50 manufacturing sites.
Supergut brought on CPG veteran Tracey Warner Halama, formerly of Vital Proteins, as CEO. Philipp Brown, former procurement director at Vital Proteins also joined the company as director of supply chain. Founder Marc Washington stepped into the role of executive chairman to guide the brand’s next stage of product innovation.
Krill oil supplier Aker BioMarine named Jaroslava Juricova-Olsen as chief marketing officer for its Human Health Ingredients (HHI) segment, to oversee marketing strategies for HHI’s portfolio, including plant-based DHA omega-3 ingredient FloraMarine and brain health supplement Lysoveta. Juricova-Olsen holds a Master of Science in business from BI Norwegian Business School and a master’s in international trade from the Prague University of Economics and Business. In her previous roles, she served as marketing director for Salmon Brands (SALMA) and Orkla Health.
Gut health brand BelliWelli welcomed Nathan Underwood as its new senior vice president of sales to drive the company’s continued expansion into new markets and further its omni-channel presence. Prior to BelliWelli, Underwood scaled retail and DTC business for brands including Ritual, Nuun Hydration and Talking Rain Beverage Co.
Christian Barker is the new chief commercial officer, global head of human nutrition and executive board member at Barentz, succeeding Gökhan Oran. He joins the company after over a decade as executive vice president of health & nutrition at Christian Hansen Holding and 15 years as a partner with McKinsey & Company.
Nutrafol appointed Kim Biedermann, PhD, as chief research and development officer to lead the brand’s clinical research program, accelerate product development and advance its scientific platform through innovative ingredient research and testing. Over the last 25 years, Dr. Biedermann has held R&D roles with companies including Nature’s Bounty (Nestle), Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, GlaxoSmithKline and most recently Mend Nutrition Inc., where she served as chief science officer.
Scott Woodruff returned to Nature’s Way as CEO. He first joined the company in 2001 as senior vice president of sales, marketing and business development. During his tenure, Nature’s Way and Integrative Therapeutics were merged in Green Bay. Woodruff served as chief marketing officer following the merger and in 2012 advanced to chief development officer before leaving to pursue other opportunities in 2018.
Jennifer Chase joined CPG Radar as director of business development. With 15 years in the nutraceutical industry, she has held roles in product development, technical sales and account management. In her new role, she will drive strategic partnerships and market expansion, leveraging AI-powered clinical and market intelligence to help brands and ingredient companies accelerate sales and gain a competitive edge.
PLT Health Solutions promoted Devin Stagg from chief operating officer, a role he has held for the past six years, to president. Prior to PLT Health Solutions, Stagg worked in equity capital markets for Citigroup Global Capital Markets. He is the fourth president in PLT’s 75-year history and the first non-Flowerman to hold this title. Seth Flowerman continues as company CEO.
iHerb appointed Eli Glasser as senior vice president of compliance. Formerly chief compliance officer and associate general council at Tyson Foods, Glasser brings over 20 years of expertise in litigation, compliance and regulatory affairs and will oversee iHerb’s compliance programs, regulatory adherence and risk management as it grows in current and new markets. Glasser earned his undergraduate degrees in international relations and philosophy from Boston University and his Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University.
Sabinsa promoted Asha Ramesh to CEO Americas, adding South America to her CEO responsibilities, and Jan Obirek was promoted to vice president of sales US & Canada. Ramesh joined the company 30 years ago as manager of purchasing and special projects at Sabinsa’s manufacturing arm, Sami Labs Ltd. in Bangalore, India, and moved to Sabinsa staff in January 2000, focusing primarily on sales and business development before being named US CEO in 2018. Obirek joined Sabinsa in 2015 as regional sales manager for California and has broad consumer packaged goods and ingredient sales expertise with both branded and private label products.
MycoTechnology appointed Jordi Ferre as its new chief executive officer. Ranjan Patnaik, PhD, who had been acting as interim CEO, will continue to serve as MycoTechnology’s chief technology officer. Ferre brings 30 years of general management experience in the global food, value-added ingredients and agri-tech industries, most recently as global food division head at HealthTech Bioactives. He has also held leadership positions at AgroFresh, PureCircle, Tate & Lyle and Alvinesa Natural Ingredients.
Jewell Blackwell joined British life science company Phynova as marketing and sales manager to promote the company’s flagship Reducose blood sugar support product.
Andrea Benson is new country leader for NOW Health Group Canada and its natural wellness product distributor Puresource Corp. She began her career in small private business and not-for-profit associations, working alongside the grocery and drug industries, and has held marketing and business development roles within the retail, food service and industrial sales channels. A graduate of York University, she is actively involved in mentoring young professionals in the CPG industry and supports initiatives focused on sustainability and responsible sourcing.
Prinova appointed Richard McEvoy as its new president and CEO following the retirement of Don Thorp, who led the business for 42 years. McEvoy previously held leadership roles at Unilever, JohnsonDiversey, Vantage Specialty Chemicals, and most recently Voyant Beauty.
Dr. Sven Abend joined pharma and nutraceutical excipient solutions firm DFE Pharma (jointly owned by Royal FrieslandCampina and CVC Strategic Opportunities II since 2020) as new CEO. His most recent position was CEO of Gelita, and he has worked at Lonza as chief strategy officer and chief operating officer, at Kolb as business manager and CEO and at Cognis in product management and key account roles. Abend holds a PhD in Chemistry from Christian-Albrechts-Universität in Kiel, Germany.
Maypro Group welcomed Abhijit Natu as vice president of sales and marketing to oversee all US-based ingredient sales and marketing efforts. A chemical engineer by training, Natu previously held leadership positions at BASF, Nu-Mega, Mondelez and Coca-Cola.
Stratum Nutrition announced the addition of Dr. Prem Sreenivasan as senior manager of scientific affairs. In this role, he will work alongside Dr. Kevin Ruff, senior director of research & development, to advance innovation, research and evidence-based ingredient development. Dr. Sreenivasan has built and managed teams for clinical studies in the United States, Europe, Latin America, India and China.
The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) Board of Trustees announced the selection of Graham Rigby as the new President & CEO of AHPA. The decision came with longtime leader Michael McGuffin’s full participation and blessing, as he participated in the executive search process prior to his passing. Rigby has held executive leadership roles at Care/of (Bayer AG), Organic India and New Chapter (Procter & Gamble) and IngredientAI. He has also served on AHPA’s Board of Trustees for over a decade—both as Board Chair and, most recently, Chair of the Finance & Governance Committee.