Dean Foods has appointed Eric Beringause as its new CEO, replacing Ralph Scozzafava who has stepped down from the role.
Beringause most recently served as CEO Gehl Foods, a producer of dairy-based beverages and food products.
Prior to that, he was chief executive of bottled water manufacturer Advanced Refreshment and, before that, of Sturm Foods.
Dean Foods, which makes brands such as DairyPure and TruMoo, said Beringause brings “more than 30 years of transformational leadership and operational experience at a broad range of blue-chip brands in the food, beverage and consumer products industries”.
“We believe Eric is the right leader to drive the transformation of the business as the company continues to execute on its enterprise-wide cost productivity plan and its previously announced exploration of strategic alternatives,” said Jim Turner, non-executive chairman of the Dean Foods board.
“He has a long track record of creating value in dairy and consumer products companies, as well as a unique combination of turnaround and operational expertise.”
Beringause said: “I am honoured to join Dean Foods at this important juncture. Dean Foods is the nation’s largest dairy processor and a leader in the industry, and I am excited to work with the board and management team to leverage our scale and substantial assets to realise the significant opportunities available to transform our company.
“My top priority will be to ensure we have the right footprint and strategies in place to drive sustainable growth and profitability for the benefit of our shareholders, employees, customers and other stakeholders.”
Turner added: “On behalf of the entire board, I want to thank Ralph for his service and contributions to Dean Foods over the past five years. We appreciate his dedication to the company and we wish him all the best in the future.”
Earlier this year, Dallas-headquartered Dean Foods said it was exploring strategic alternatives that could include the sale of assets, the formation of a joint venture, going private with a buyer, or an outright sale of the company.
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