Smucker appoints new manager for pet food, sweet baked snacks segments

USA – The J.M. Smucker Co. has promoted Judd Freitag to Senior Vice President and General Manager of Pet and Sweet Baked Snacks, succeeding Dan O’Leary, who will leave the company effective March 7.

Freitag has been with J.M. Smucker for over 15 years, most recently serving as Vice President and General Manager of the Pet segment. 

His contributions have been key in implementing positive changes within the business. He has also held leadership roles in finance, corporate strategy, and brand marketing.

In his new role, Freitag will oversee the implementation of the company’s strategy for Sweet Baked Snacks, focusing on enhancing the Hostess brand. His responsibilities will include managing the core product portfolio, expanding distribution, driving innovation, evolving the product line, and establishing revenue synergies.

“The promotion of Judd reflects our commitment to the Hostess brand and taking the necessary actions to return the Hostess brand to growth, while continuing to deliver the Pet business. In addition, we are evolving the leadership structure of our supply chain and manufacturing organizations to ensure that we remain positioned to deliver best-in-class execution across our portfolio of brands,” said Mark Smucker, chairman of the board, president and CEO.

Freitag holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Kent State University and a master’s degree in finance from Ashland University.

Alongside Freitag’s promotion, the company announced a restructuring of its supply chain and manufacturing organizations to enhance oversight and execution. 

Bryan Hutson will take on the role of Senior Vice President of Information Services and Supply Chain, assuming responsibility for the company’s supply chain activities. 

Hutson currently manages Information Services, the Transformation Office, and Portfolio Operations. Randy Day, as an elected officer of the company, will continue to oversee manufacturing as Senior Vice President of Operations.

According to Petfood Industry’s Top Pet Food Companies report, J.M. Smucker is a leading producer, distributor, and marketer of premium-quality, branded pet food and pet snacks in the U.S. 

The company operates processing plants in Decatur, Alabama; Lawrence, Kansas; and Buffalo, New York, as well as a processing plant and distribution center in Topeka, Kansas, and Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. 

Besides its own brands, Smucker also produces and distributes private-label pet products and collaborates with 16 co-packers and 12 re-packers in the U.S., Canada, and Thailand.

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