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Campbell’s Finds New Leader for Meals & Beverages Division

Jan. 23, 2025
Effective Feb. 1, Risa Cretella will become executive VP and president, Meals & Beverages, taking the role Mick Beekhuizen is moving out of to lead the company.

With the departure of company CEO Mark Clouse, who is leaving to become president of the National Football League’s Washington Commanders, and subsequent promotion of Mick Beekhuizen to fill Clouse’s role, The Campbell’s Co. was in search of a new leader for its Meals & Beverages unit.

The company has announced that Risa Cretella will take over as executive vice president and president, Meals & Beverages, effective Feb. 1, 2025. Cretella will report to Beekhuizen and become a corporate officer and member of the company’s operating committee.

Cretella joined Campbell’s with the Sovos Brands Inc. acquisition as senior vice president and general manager of Distinctive Brands, a business unit within Meals & Beverages. Her new role will give her oversight of brands such as Campbell’s, Chunky, Pace, Pacific Foods, Prego, Rao’s, Swanson and V8 in North American retail and foodservice channels.

Cretella has nearly 25 years of experience in the food industry in general management, marketing and sales. She was executive vice president, general manager of the Rao’s brand for six years, and had taken on the role of chief sales officer for Sovos just a year prior to the company’s acquisition by Campbell’s. Prior to her time with Sovos, she served in various marketing and sales roles for Pinnacle Foods and The J.M. Smucker Co.

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.

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