KANSAS CITY — Hostess Brands, L.L.C. has announced plans to open a new corporate office in Chicago to serve as its new hub for marketing and category management.
“Relocating our category sales and marketing functions to Chicago creates the opportunity to tap into the region’s deep pool of food marketing talent and further strengthen our capabilities in these critical areas as we continue to grow,” said Andrew P. Callahan, chief executive officer of Hostess.
All Hostess employees currently in marketing and category management roles have been offered the opportunity to relocate to Chicago, the company said. Hostess intends to add additional positions in the new office over the next several months.
As part of the marketing move, Chad Lusk has joined Hostess as senior vice-president and chief marketing officer. In his new role, Mr. Lusk will be responsible for overall profitable brand growth and will be tasked with overseeing consumer insights and analytics, brand strategy and innovation.
“I am thrilled for the opportunity to work with the Hostess leadership team, associates, agency partners and customers to continue to elevate an already iconic brand that enjoys a special emotional connection with consumers,” Mr. Lusk said. “As Hostess celebrates its 100th birthday and looks ahead to its next century, we see tremendous potential to further invest in and leverage consumer insights, robust innovation capabilities and targeted marketing to build on the momentum and drive our next exciting phase of growth.”
Mr. Lusk joins Hostess from the Chamberlain Group, where he was most recently executive vice-president and chief marketing officer. Before that, he was chief strategy officer and, later, senior vice-president of marketing at Ferrara Candy Co. Previously, Mr. Lusk was chief strategy officer and head of wholesale operations for Mid-Atlantic Convenience Stores. Earlier in his career, he was a senior engagement manager at McKinsey & Co. and a global sourcing specialist for ExxonMobil.
“Chad is a dynamic and deeply experienced brand marketing executive whose leadership, insights, market expertise and creative approach will be invaluable as we move into this next stage of development for the Hostess brand,” Mr. Callahan said.