Sargento Announces New Appointments for President & CCO, Consumer Products President

Lou Gentine, Chairman and CEO announces the appointment of Louie Gentine as President & Chief Customer Officer of Sargento Foods.  This change results from the planned retirement of Bob Clouston, the current President & Chief Customer Officer, and the leadership demonstrated by Louie Gentine in the family–owned company.

Louie earned his bachelor’s of business administration in finance from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA from Loyola University.  After spending three years in commercial banking, Louie returned to Sargento and has had many cross-functional training and leadership experiences in marketing, production, procurement and most recently as President of the Consumer Products Division.  In his new role, Louie will have responsibility for the company’s four sales divisions, new product development, and corporate-wide customer and consumer research.

In addition to Gentine's appointment, Michael Pellegrino has joined Sargento Foods Inc. as President of its Consumer Products Division.

Pellegrino brings extensive strategic planning, consumer products marketing and sales experience to Sargento from Kraft Foods, most recently as Senior Vice President - Global Strategic Planning.  He has also served as General Manager and Senior Vice President of Kraft Pizza Company and Vice President - Marketing & Strategy of Kraft’s Cheese Division.  He earned both his bachelor’s of science in business administration and his MBA in marketing from the University of Wisconsin–LaCrosse.

Pellegrino will report to Louie Gentine and together they are expected to continue the momentum of strong volume and brand equity growth fueled by innovation that is a hallmark of Sargento.