BLUFFTON, IND. — Greg Pearson has been named chief executive officer of Pretzels, Inc., a producer of pretzels, filled pretzels and extruded snacks. He succeeds William A. (Chip) Mann II, who will continue to serve as executive vice-president of sales and as a member of the company’s board.

Prior to joining Pretzels, Mr. Pearson was with Chewy, an online pet product retailer, where he worked as head of marketing and vice-president and general manager of private brands. Before Chewy, he was vice-president and general manager of pasta at TreeHouse Foods. He earlier was vice-president and general manager of pasta and global brand director at Conagra Brands, Inc. He began his career with General Mills, Inc., holding marketing management positions in the company’s cereal and baking products units.

Mr. Pearson was chairman of the National Pasta Association from March 2015 to September 2016, and he has served on the boards of Pasta Lensi s.r.l. and Think Small.

He received a bachelor’s degree in history from Carleton College and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School.

“We are delighted to welcome Greg to the Pretzels team,” said Robert Strauss, a member of Pretzels’ board. “Greg is a highly talented executive who has an impressive history of leadership roles within both private and nationally branded food companies. His demonstrated track record of driving significant value creation across both sales and operations is a great fit for Pretzels, and we look forward to leveraging his expertise as we execute on numerous growth initiatives.”

Mr. Mann is the youngest of four children and the only son of Bill and Betty Mann, who co-founded Pretzels, Inc. along with Bill Huggins. He joined the company after graduating in 1987 from Western Michigan University.

Mr. Mann’s primary function at Pretzels, Inc. has been focused on sales development and customer relations. He continues to call on key accounts and is instrumental in product development. He also is deeply involved in SNAC International (formerly Snack Food Association), sitting on many management workshop committees. He was chairman of the association during 2013-14.

Pretzels, Inc. was acquired by an affiliate of private equity firm Peak Rock Capital in October 2018. Headquartered in Bluffton, Pretzels supplies a range of salty snack products, including traditional, peanut butter-filled, flavored, seasonal and gluten-free pretzels, as well as extruded snack products. The company has manufacturing facilities in Bluffton and Plymouth, Ind. The Plymouth facility opened in 2017 and is responsible for peanut butter pretzel and bulk pretzel production.