| Talent Intelligence · US Food & Beverage · Issue 03 |
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| 01 · The Signal |
| The brand kept the product and sold the factory |
On 24 September United Petfood, the Belgian private label pet food maker, said it had signed a definitive agreement to buy Wellness Pet Company's dry pet food plant in Decatur, Arkansas, with a long-term agreement to keep supplying Wellness. It is the second plant United Petfood has bought from Wellness, after Mishawaka, Indiana in June 2024, and its third in North America, with Drummondville, Quebec added in April.
I read it as two businesses making opposite bets about the same asset. The brand owner is betting that owning the plant is not where it makes its money. The specialist is betting that it is. That trade gets easier to justify when plants are running light, and this week's Number says they are. The risk does not go away. It moves into a supply contract that is negotiated once and managed every day by whoever is left.
Who gets hired. On the seller's side, plant jobs go and a smaller, more senior set arrives: external manufacturing leadership, co-manufacturing quality, and supply planning that can hold a partner to a scorecard. On the buyer's side, three plants bought in just over two years is a network, and a network needs a regional operations head above the plant managers, not just a new general manager in Decatur. My expectation is that the buyer fills its seat first and the seller finds out late that it needed one.
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Sources:
Petfood Industry, United Petfood acquires dry food plant from Wellness Pet, 24 Sep 2026 ·
Just Food, United Petfood buys US factory from Wellness Pet Company, 24 Sep 2026
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| 02 · The Move List |
| Senior moves in US food and beverage announced between 21 and 25 September 2026. Every company name links to the filing or release behind the row. |
| Name |
Title |
Company |
Moved from |
Effective |
| Brad Hartzell |
Chief Supply Chain Officer |
Ocean Spray |
COO, Beauty & Body Solutions, KDC/ONE |
Announced 21 Sep 2026 |
| Earl Larson |
Retires as Chief Supply Chain Officer |
Ocean Spray |
Nearly 22 years at Ocean Spray |
End of Sep 2026 |
| Kevin Zidron |
Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer |
Ocean Spray |
Nestlé Health Science, Vital Proteins, Kraft Heinz |
Announced 21 Sep 2026 |
| Tim Finnerty |
VP Food Safety and Quality |
Sargento Foods |
VP Food Safety, Quality and Regulatory Affairs, DO & CO North America |
Announced 22 Sep 2026 |
| Jack Lindsay |
VP Manufacturing |
Sargento Foods |
VP, Operations Business Lead, Danone North America |
Announced 22 Sep 2026 |
| Steve Cahoon |
VP Strategic Sourcing |
Sargento Foods |
VP Manufacturing, Sargento |
Announced 22 Sep 2026 |
| Kirk Jensen |
Chief Operating Officer |
Good Culture |
COO, The Honest Kitchen |
Announced 23 Sep 2026 |
| Rob Gehring |
President, North America Operating Unit |
The Coca-Cola Company |
CEO Americas, Monster |
1 Dec 2026 |
| Emelie C. Tirre |
Interim head, Americas and Caribbean, remaining Chief Strategy Officer |
Monster Beverage |
Chief Strategy Officer, Monster; covers Gehring's exit |
1 Dec 2026 |
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| 03 · The Read |
| Who in my business can run a plant it does not own? |
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When volume moves to a co-manufacturer, the obvious owner is the best plant manager. I think that is the wrong call more often than the right one. Running a plant is command: you own the people, the schedule and the fix. Running a partner is contract, data and persuasion, and the partner's plant manager does not report to you. If you are selling a plant or adding a co-packer this year, test for the second skill set first.
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| 1 | "Tell me about a co-manufacturer that missed. What did you change in the contract afterwards, not just in the relationship?"
What it tests: whether they manage partners through terms and data or through goodwill. Goodwill runs out the first time capacity gets tight. |
| 2 | "Walk me through the scorecard you would put in front of a supplier in week one. Which measure would you drop if they could only hit four?"
What it tests: whether they know what actually protects the customer. A leader who will not drop a measure has never had to choose. |
| 3 | "You have just sold the plant you ran. The buyer's team now makes your product. What do you do in the first 30 days?"
What it tests: whether they can let go of the floor and still own the outcome. The weak answer is spending the month back on site. |
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| 04 · The Number |
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77.3%
of US food, beverage and tobacco plant capacity was in use in August 2026, against a 1972 to 2025 average of 80.2%.
Preliminary, published 18 September; July was 77.1%. The 2.9 point gap is my subtraction. My read: this is a capital decision. Before approving a new line, a board should know whether its existing plants are the constraint. Often what is missing is a leader, not a line. To lift utilization five points without new capital, which plant moves first, and who leads it?Federal Reserve, G.17 Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization, Table 7 |
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| 05 · On the Bench |
| Three senior operators I represent. Anonymous, because most people worth hiring at this level do not want a public search. |
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HC-064
External manufacturing and supply chain leader, Director to VP. Food and consumer manufacturing. 25+ years.
• Grew a contract manufacturing network from 5 to 26+ sites for national consumer brands
• Launched new product lines through three external sites at a national food manufacturer
• Cut consumer complaints from 500 to 235 PPM in a global quality role; zero recalls in his last four years
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HC-065
VP Operations. Multi-site food manufacturing. 20+ years.
• Ran a 1,000+ person site at a global food multinational; delivered a packaging pilot under budget with 20 percent less waste and 15 percent more output
• In a multi-plant consolidation, lifted line efficiency 24 percent and cut waste 50 percent
• Raised raw material yield 8 percent with statistical process control
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HC-066
VP Operations. Plant start-ups and multi-site food manufacturing. 30+ years.
• Five plant start-ups, one taken from equipment selection to the site leadership hire
• Cut unit cost 27 percent at a 470-person plant
• SQF 96+ for seven straight years; has led up to 1,200 people across three to five sites
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| 06 · One Line Back |
| Last week I asked when you last hired an operator because they had run a business under debt pressure. No replies to it reached my inbox, so there is no split to publish. |
| If you moved one product line to a co-manufacturer tomorrow, who in your business would own the relationship? |
| Reply with the job title. Email me the title if you are reading on the web. I will publish the answers next Wednesday. |
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I run retained executive search for US food and beverage manufacturers, Director to C-suite. One sector, one person, a small number of mandates at a time. I put a leader forward only when the move advances their career and answers a problem the business actually has. Appointments hold because of what I decline, not what I close.
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If the co-manufacturing question is live for you: [email protected], or book a 30-minute call here.
Scott Williams
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