Fred Penny To Retire at Bimbo USA, Replaced by Tony Gavin

Feb. 24, 2023

The company also announced the promotion of Rafael Pamias from executive VP of Grupo Bimbo to chief operating officer of Grupo Bimbo.

Dave Fusaro

After 41 years in the baking industry, Fred Penny is retiring at the end of March as president of Bimbo Bakeries USA (BBU). He will be replaced by Tony Gavin, currently executive vice president of BBU.

The company said Penny spent most of his career working in leadership roles for predecessor companies that would eventually become BBU. Over the past decade as president, he led BBU through “unprecedented circumstances and challenges to record business performance.”

Gavin previously worked at George Weston Bakeries (which was acquired by Bimbo), Best Foods and CPC International. As BBU President, Gavin will report to Mark Bendix, a Grupo Bimbo executive vice president, whose responsibility will expand to include BBU, in addition to Bimbo Canada and Bimbo QSR.

Also announced was the promotion of Rafael Pamias from executive VP of Grupo Bimbo to chief operating officer of Grupo Bimbo, leading all four global regions as well as sustainability and global marketing.

About the Author

Dave Fusaro | Editor in Chief

Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.