The Hain Celestial Group, parent company of organic and antibiotic-free poultry company Hain Pure Protein, has named Mark L. Schiller as its new president and CEO, effective November 5.
Schiller will also be nominated as a director of the company at its annual meeting of shareholders on December 5.
Schiller will succeed Irwin D. Simon, in the leadership roles. Simon, who in June announced his intent to retire, is also the founder of the company.
"I am excited and honored to have the opportunity to lead Hain Celestial, and have long admired the company's vision and mission for its organic, natural and better-for-you brands,” Schiller stated.
Schiller, according to a press release from the company, joins Hain Celestial with a proven track record of strategic leadership including more than 25 years of executive experience in key consumer packaged foods leadership roles at Pinnacle Foods, PepsiCo, and other companies.
Most recently, Schiller served as Pinnacle Foods' executive vice president and chief commercial officer, where he was responsible for overseeing its multi-billion dollar grocery and frozen segments which represented the vast majority of Pinnacle Foods' consolidated sales and profitability. In this role, he led all key commercial functions, including sales, marketing strategy, innovation, product development, package design, commercialization, productivity, consumer insights and shopper marketing. During Schiller's tenure at Pinnacle Foods, he successfully helped orchestrate a multi-year turnaround and delivered record market share gains, sales growth, gross margin and profit growth.
Andrew R. Heyer, Hain Celestial's lead director commented: "After an extensive search with many qualified candidates, we are thrilled that Mark Schiller will join Hain Celestial as the next chief executive officer. Mark is a highly accomplished consumer packaged foods executive with an impressive track record of reinvigorating growth and improving margins for many iconic brands.”
Simon stated: "Mark is an incredibly talented executive and I am confident he can lead Hain Celestial in its next phase of growth to generate value for all of our stakeholders. His disciplined management style, entrepreneurial spirit and relentless passion for profitable growth will serve Hain Celestial well as our team works to further advance our strategic objectives."
Divestiture of Hain Pure Protein still planned
Schiller joins Hain Celestial at a time in which it is divesting of its poultry subsidiary, Hain Pure Protein. The company’s key chicken brand is FreeBird, while its primary turkey brand is Plainville Farms.
In February, Simon said Hain Celestial had taken its Hain Pure Protein business as far as it can, adding that the sale of the poultry company to a more protein-focused business can take Hain Pure Protein to the next level.
The company earlier revealed that it expected the divestiture of Hain Pure Protein to be completed during the first half of fiscal year 2019 and before the calendar year 2018. The company’s fiscal year concluded on June 30.
