After less than two years at the helm of CJ Schwan’s, Brian Schiegg has left the company, and Dr. Gregory Yep, chairman of CJ Schwan’s board and CEO of parent company CJ Foods, will become its interim CEO, according to a release from the company.
Yep was named CEO of CJ Foods last May, and he will add oversight of the U.S. affiliate while the company searches for its next permanent CEO. The change “reflects deeper alignment with parent company CJ Foods,” the release noted.
Schiegg had taken the reins from longtime CEO Dimitrios Smyrnios, who retired after more than a decade leading CJ Schwan’s. Schiegg had been only the seventh CEO in the company’s 70-plus years.
Yep brings more than 30 years of leadership in food science, nutrition and biotechnology to the post. Prior to taking on the role of CEO of CJ Foods, Yep had been the company’s chief technology officer since 2023.
CJ Schwan’s, meanwhile, will continue its search for Schiegg’s full-time replacement, who will oversee the company’s pizza, desserts and Asian-style food businesses. The U.S. business operates 17 food plants across the country, and it also plans to open a new Asian-style food production facility in Sioux Falls, S.D., in 2027.
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.