Former Swift Prepared Foods Exec Named New President, CEO of West Madison Foods

Nov. 2, 2023

Tom Lopez, who led Swift Prepared Foods as well as two separate divisions at Kraft Foods/Kraft Heinz in his career, joins the processor of dressings and dips out of Chicago.

Andy Hanacek

Chicago-based West Madison Foods Inc. has appointed former Swift Prepared Foods executive Tom Lopez as its new president and CEO, according to a release.

Lopez joins West Madison Foods with more than 24 years of experience in the food industry. He most recently served as president and COO of JBS USA’s Swift Prepared Foods division, spearheading the transition of Plumrose USA after it was acquired by JBS. Prior to that, he worked for Kraft Foods/Kraft Heinz as president of two separate multibillion-dollar divisions, and held various leadership roles during a 14-year stint with Oscar Mayer.

On LinkedIn, Lopez posted that he was “excited to lead an organization with the energy of a startup and the stability of great brands like Marie’s Dressings and Dean’s Dairy Dips.”

West Madison Foods was formed in July by parent company Brynwood Partners IX L.P. to house the Marie’s Refrigerated Dressings and Dean’s Dairy Dips brands, which were acquired from Ventura Foods LLC. Its products are manufactured in the company’s processing facility in Thornton, Ill., and the company employs nearly 100 full-time workers in the Chicagoland area.

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.