In August 2010. Dallas-based Dean Foods Co., a leading U.S. dairy company and a global leader in soy products, promoted Joseph E. Scalzo from COO to president and COO, overseeing all of Dean Foods' operating businesses; including Fresh Dairy Direct, marketed under more than 50 local and regional dairy brands and private label; WhiteWave, Morningstar and Alpro, as well as key strategic functions including worldwide supply chain, R&D and innovation. He is responsible for the profitability and growth of all Dean Foods operating units, for developing and driving the three-year strategic growth plans, and has oversight for all of the company's functional teams.
"I am impressed by the professionalism and optimism of the Dean Foods organization," said Scalzo. "The people are willing to roll up their sleeves and commit whole-heartedly to the work at hand. I continue to be honored to work with this group of talented people."
Earning a bachelor's in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, he began his career at Procter & Gamble in 1985, where he held various leadership positions. He joined Coca-Cola Co. in 1997, served as vice president and managing director, U.S. Refrigerated Products, vice president and general manager of Coca-Cola North America, senior vice president and Chief Marketing Officer, Minute Maid Division, and Vice President, Worldwide Core Brand Development of Coca-Cola Co. He joined Dean Foods in 2005 as president and CEO of its WhiteWave Foods Co. subsidiary. He transformed three separate businesses into a single winning company which involved implementing SAP, moving from a brokered sales force to a stronger, in-house sales team, consolidating manufacturing from a host of co-packers to five state-of-the-art in-house facilities, and recruited and developed world-class talent. He was promoted to president and CEO of WhiteWave Foods Co. and Morningstar Foods Co. in February 2008 and to COO of Dean Foods Co. in November 2009.
Dean's Fresh Dairy Direct business is the largest processor and distributor of milk and other dairy products in the country, while its WhiteWave-Morningstar business produces and sells a variety of nationally branded soy, dairy and dairy-related products. Popular brands include: Silk soymilk, Horizon Organic milk and dairy products, International Delight coffee creamers, and Land O'Lakes creamers. WhiteWave-Morningstar also produces and sells private label cultured and extended shelf life dairy products through the Morningstar platform. Dean Foods' business also includes Alpro, the pan-European leader in branded soy food products. With some 27,000 employees, Dean's revenue for the full year 2009 was $11.2 billion, 10.4 percent below the prior year's results.
In September 2010, Scalzo said the company is on track to meet its three-to-five-year goal (set in Feb. 2009) of cutting $300 million in costs this year.
"Beyond that, the company should see "at least $100 million in savings annually for the foreseeable future," he said. With 40 acquisitions during the past two decades Dean has 38 percent share in the fluid milk market. Scalzo said the company has dozens of plants, including some serving overlapping regions that have the same product mix and customer base. "This production model is needlessly complex, resulting in costs much higher than they need to be," he said.
In November, Credit Suisse analyst Robert Moskow cut his rating for Dean Foods to "Underperform" from "Neutral" and his target share price to $7 from $11. The "race to the bottom price environment is likely to continue," Moskow said. "With too much production and falling demand, Dean and others are facing pressure from customers to cut prices and their profit margins. "We think this trend will continue as the population gets older (and drinks less milk) and as privately owned competitors continue to resist cutting capacity," said Moskow.