YORK, MAINE — Rick Lees has been named chief financial officer for specialty food manufacturer Stonewall Kitchen.
Mr. Lees joins Stonewall Kitchen from Ocean Spray, where he spent the last 12 years in leadership roles, including executive vice president, chief commercial officer and CFO. Prior to Ocean Spray, he was vice president of finance, North America, for the Gillette Co. Earlier, he spent more than three years as group CFO of Dannon North America for Danone S.A., and before that was vice president and controller for Pillsbury.
“This is an exciting new chapter for me,” Mr. Lees said. “What first attracted me to Stonewall Kitchen was the brand — for me signifying quality, authenticity and heritage in a way that few brands today can. I was also drawn to the people and culture of Stonewall Kitchen, which operates in a hands-on, highly capable environment. I am thrilled to be joining the company during these exciting times and look forward to being a part of its future successes.”
Natalie King has been promoted to chief sales and marketing officer for Stonewall Kitchen. In her new role, Ms. King will be responsible for driving profitable revenue growth and brand experience through various channels.
Ms. King, sister of Stonewall Kitchen founder Jonathan King, has been with the company since 1996, most recently as executive vice president. Before joining the company, she was sales manager for Omni Hotels & Resorts.
Additionally, Stonewall Kitchen has promoted Dean Frost to chief operating officer. In this role, Mr. Frost will ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of all aspects of the company’s operations, including ingredient and packaging sourcing, manufacturing across multiple facilities and delivering to customers.
A nine-year veteran of Stonewall Kitchen, Mr. Frost was most recently director of logistics for the company.
“With four acquisitions in the last two years, Stonewall Kitchen has seen tremendous growth,” said John Stiker, chief executive officer of Stonewall Kitchen. “It is important to us that as our business grows, our organization scales alongside it to ensure we have the infrastructure, resources and leadership in place for continued growth and future success. Bringing Rick on to head up our finance department will strengthen us as a company, as will the promotions of Natalie and Dean. I couldn’t be more excited to work alongside this team of leaders here, as we continue to look for new ways to grow and new specialty brands to add to our family.”
In the past two years, Stonewall Kitchen has acquired Village Candle, Vermont Village, the Napa Valley Naturals and Montebello brands, and Tillen Farms. In early August 2019, Audax Private Equity acquired a controlling interest in Stonewall Kitchen from Centre Partners.