TORONTO — Rik Jacobs has been named president and chief executive officer of SunOpta Inc., effective Oct. 1. He will succeed Steve Bromley, who will assume the role of vice-chairman. Mr. Bromley will complete the transition in leadership and support Mr. Jacobs and the SunOpta board of directors on key corporate development activities until the end of 2015.
 |
| Rik Jacobs, president and c.e.o. of SunOpta |
Mr. Jacobs has been a key architect of SunOpta’s strategic foundation, working closely with Mr. Bromley, according to the company. He has international food industry experience in general management, sales, strategy and marketing with Tetra Pak, PepsiCo, Royal Dutch Ahold and the Coca-Cola Co.
Mr. Bromley joined SunOpta in 2001 and has led the company as c.e.o. since 2007.
“The time for succession is right as our focus increasingly turns to execution and accelerated performance,” said Alan Murray, chairman of SunOpta Inc. “Rik is a dynamic leader who has done an incredible job transforming the structure, talent and processes necessary to support SunOpta’s solid strategic foundation. He has tremendous global food industry expertise, knows SunOpta deeply, and is a leader who we are confident will accelerate growth and performance.
“We are indebted to Steve for his long-standing commitment to SunOpta and for his strong leadership. He has created the strategic foundation in place today, and he has made great strides in repositioning the business and SunOpta’s core assets in growing segments and categories.”
