Horizon Organic Names Patricia Stroup Chief Operating Officer

May 29, 2025

Stroup has deep roots in dairy, including 18 years at Nestle in Switzerland.

Horizon Organic and Wallaby, both owned by Platinum Equity, said Patricia Stroup has been named chief operating officer (COO). She has an extensive background in dairy, including more than 18 years at Nestle, and she grew up on and ran her own dairy farm.

In her past, Stroup worked at Hilmar Cheese Co. and Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative. Most of her time at Nestle was in Switzerland, most recently serving as the global senior vice president and chief procurement officer. She also is the former chair of the International Dairy Foods Assn. board of directors.

Horizon Organic is a pioneer in organic dairy and the largest USDA-certified organic milk and dairy brand in the world, and Wallaby makes Australian-style yogurts and organic Greek yogurts.

Platinum Equity early last year bought Horizon Organic and Wallaby from Danone.

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.