Mark Schiller today (Oct. 29) was unveiled as the incoming president/CEO of Hain Celestial, replacing the only CEO the 25-year-old company has had: founder Irwin Simon. Schiller will take over on Nov. 5.
Schiller has more than 25 years of executive experience in key consumer packaged foods leadership roles at Pinnacle Foods, PepsiCo and other companies. He leaves Pinnacle as its executive vice president and chief commercial officer, where he oversaw the multi-billion-dollar grocery and frozen segments, which comprise the vast majority of Pinnacle's sales.
Conagra Brands just completed its acquisition of Pinnacle Foods on Oct. 26.
"During Schiller's tenure [eight years] at Pinnacle Foods, he successfully helped orchestrate a multi-year turnaround and delivered record market share gains, sales growth, gross margin and profit growth," the Hain Celestial announcement said.
Schiller was chosen "after an extensive search with many qualified candidates," said Andrew Heyer, lead director. That search was publicly announced in June, after an investment firm bought 10 percent of the company and rumors swirled about a potential sale or breakup of the diverse natural/organic company. Hain had been underperforming then and had just righted ship after 2016-2017 accounting problems led to it being temporarily de-listed by Nasdaq.
Simon added, "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."
