The chief financial officer of Blue Diamond Growers will be wearing another hat: chief operating officer.
Dean LaVallee will continue to serve as CFO while assuming the new responsibilities of COO, Blue Diamond, a nut-growers cooperative, said in a statement. These include overseeing Blue Diamond’s finance, global ingredients and IT operations.
LaVallee had a long career with Kraft Heinz, beginning with joining Kraft Canada in 1988 and rising to vice president for finance transformation. He was hired by Blue Diamond in 2011.
“We are so pleased to expand Dean's responsibilities to include that of chief operating officer," said Blue Diamond CEO Mark Jansen. "His strategic and proven leadership over the last decade within our organization has established a crucial foundation for Blue Diamond's success in ensuring maximum returns to our grower-owners. In his new role, Dean will bring together the needed infrastructure, technology and resources for our continued growth and prosperity.”
