People on the move: The new nutra jobs of Summer 2024

By Asia Sherman

- Last updated on GMT

© filadendron / Getty Images
© filadendron / Getty Images
This summer has seen a number of comings and goings in the dietary supplement industry as companies seek to propel new phases of growth, expansion and innovation.

NutraIngredients-USA presents a roundup of these recent movements, which feature new C-suite appointments of consumer product goods veterans at the likes of Traditional Medicinals, Omni Retail Enterprises, AG1, Beneo, Brightseed, Sami-Sabinsa, Stratum Nutrition and Amare Global.

Traditional Medicinals​ announced Joe Stanziano​ as new CEO. Stanziano brings 27 years of experience at The J.M. Smucker Company, where he most recently served as senior vice president and general manager of the coffee division for six years. In his new position, he is charged with leading a strategic and intentional growth plan and advancing the company's purpose-driven mission focused on people, products and the planet over profit, the company shared. Stanziano replaces Gary Gatton, who had led the company since 2022.

Reena Gordon​ joined Alkemist Labs​ as chief operating officer to modernize and restructure operations to position the analytical testing lab for expansion and significant growth. A graduate of Harvard University and the Wharton School of Business, Gordon has led operations for several purpose-driven startups and supported over 40 public and private companies to scale regionally and internationally as a consultant.

ChromaDex​ appointed Carlos Lopez​ as senior vice president, general counsel. He now oversees corporate governance, securities, intellectual property and litigation. Prior to joining ChromaDex, he served as the vice president, general counsel at The Vitamin Shoppe and on the board of The Natural Products Association.

Craig Rouskey​ succeeds Sunny Jain as CEO at personalized probiotic company Floré. ​With a background in molecular biology, molecular and cellular immunology and medical microbiology, he joined from Floré from renegade.bio, where as co-founder and CEO he led a team of scientists and entrepreneurs to provide rapid and cost-effective COVID-19 diagnostic testing. 

Omni Retail Enterprises​, whose brand portfolio includes Bodybuilding.com, Pier 1 and Dressbarn, announced Sharon Leite​ as CEO in June. Leite most recently served as the CEO of Ideal Image after leading The Vitamin Shoppe from 2018 to 2023. She has held leadership roles at Godiva Chocolatier, Pier 1 Imports, Bath & Body Works, Gap Inc. and The Walt Disney Company. Omni also recently appointed Jeff Haddox as the company’s chief technical officer and Steve Marada as head of product development and merchandising strategy for Bodybuilding.com. 

Nutrition company AG1​ (formerly Athletic Greens) promoted Kat Cole​ from president and COO to CEO. Cole joined AG1 in December 2021 and will continue to serve on the Board of Directors. She succeeds Chris Ashenden, who founded the company in 2010, to lead AG1’s next phase of growth, global expansion, innovation and new channels.

Brightseed​ appointed David Blackwood​ as senior vice president of bioactives to grow the company’s IP-protected pipeline of bioactive ingredients for functional food, beverage and supplement applications while expanding a product portfolio targeting metabolic health, gut health and cognition. Prior to joining the team at Brightseed, Blackwood served as vice president of sales and marketing for DSM’s dietary supplement business in North America and as senior vice president of global sales at PanTheryx.

Trace​, formerly Trace Minerals, announced the addition of Linnette Reindel​ as chief marketing officer and Thomas Youngmark​ as chief financial officer. Reindel, who has held executive positions at Tupperware and JAFRA Cosmetics International, is oversaw the company's rebrand and is expanding outreach efforts. Youngmark has worked with a range of global consumer brands, including Vital Proteins, Beam Suntory and PepsiCo and is now charged with overseeing all aspects of the company’s financial strategy, global sales and sourcing partnerships. 

Olivier Roques​ joined functional ingredient supplier Beneo ​as CEO and member of its Executive Board of Directors in June. He began his career in the dairy and flavor industries, followed by more than 20 years in leadership roles at Agrana Fruit and most recently as CEO Agrana Fruit Europe. In addition to his role as CEO, Roques will be responsible for overseeing all sales and marketing as Beneo’s new chief sales officer, succeeding Dominic Speleers.

Specialty chemicals company and ingredient distributor LBB Specialties LLC ​appointed a new president and CEO. Thomas Van Valkenburgh ​previously served as president of the specialty chemicals business at Kerry Group and held various management positions at chemicals and ingredients company IMCD U.S. He succeeds Hank DeWolf, who will stay on as senior advisor. 

Arun Nair​, formerly president and CEO of AstaReal, assumed a new role as chief commercial officer at ingredient supplier Stratum Nutrition, ​where he ​is responsible for spearheading the company's commercial strategy, driving business development and expanding market presence. 

Amin Wasserman Gurnani​ recruited attorney Robert Durkin​ to serve as co-chair of its regulatory practice in Washington D.C. alongside Rend Al-Mondhiry, a partner at the firm. During a 12-year career at the U.S. Food and Drug Adminstration, Durkin served as acting director and deputy director of the Office of Dietary Supplement Programs. He also served in the Commissioner’s office and the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) and was most recently in private practice as a partner at Arnall Golden Gregory LLP.

The Sami-Sabinsa Group​ announced the addition of Devaraj Reddy​, PhD, to its management team as chief operating officer. Reddy is based at the company's corporate office in Peenya near Bangalore, India and directly oversee unit heads of all manufacturing facilities, products, operations, exports and commercials. 

Asma Ishaq​ has moved on from health and wellness company Mōdere to become CEO at mental wellness brand Amare Global​. She began her career in finance and capital investment before co-founding nutraceutical company Jusuru, known for its expertise in collagen and hyaluronic acid technology. After Mōdere acquired Jusuru in 2017, Ishaq stayed on as CEO until June of this year. At Amare, she is responsible for building dynamic teams across the world, driving brand awareness and product growth, and elevating the client experience.

Mōdere​ appointment three experienced executives to its leadership team: Heath Tilley​ as senior vice president of global operations, Cammie Taylor​ as chief people officer and Jeff Hildebrandt​ as senior vice president of global marketing. 

Kasey Tyree​ will head up the new Insights Lab at Verdure Science's ​Noblesville, IN headquarters. With more than eight years of food and beverage experience, Tyree will focus on masking, taste profile, texture and other formulation issues to develop new solutions for Verdure’s botanical ingredients across the various delivery formats in the food, beverage and supplement markets. 

Thorne​ introduced Mary Beech​ as new chief growth officer. Formerly chief marketing officer of Kate Spade and Scholastic, she will oversee the marketing team and e-comm business spearheading all efforts around product/brand marketing.

Spee-Dee Packaging Machinery ​promoted Jaime Schultz to chief operating officer. She has been with the company for over four years, first as financial controller and more recently as director of finance. Earlier in her career, she worked for Wisconsin-based companies Columbia Grinding Inc. and Lippmann Milwaukee, Inc. in manufacturing and accounting.

Pharmachem Innovations​, recently acquired by Turnspire Capital from Ashland, appointed Maurice Murphy​, a Turnspire operating partner, as executive chairman. Jeff Rogers​ joined as interim CEO after serving as president and CEO at Niacet and holding leadership roles at Ashland, Lonza, AkzoNobel and National Starch before that.

Todd Norton​, vice president of business development at Aker BioMarine, is the new Board president at the Organic & Natural Health Association​. Alan Lewis, director of government affairs and food and agriculture policy for Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, will serve as board treasurer. AIDP president Mark Thurston, Nordic Naturals senior director of sales Brian Terry, MarketWell Nutrition CEO Doug Lynch and Florida Supplement president Ray Martinez also join the Board.

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