EMERYVILLE, CALIF. — Rizal Hamdallah is joining Clif Bar & Co. as the company’s first chief innovation officer.

Mr. Hamdallah most recently was chief global growth officer and chief global innovation officer at Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., where he led the cooperative’s innovation and research teams to launch wellness-focused products, including CarryOn CBD sparkling water, which debuted in June. Before that he was managing director and vice president of the Innovation Lab at Tyson Foods, Inc. and managing director of Tyson New Ventures, where he spearheaded the company’s investment in plant-based protein. He also was a senior brand manager for Skippy and Blue Band at Unilever and a marketing project lead at Nestle SA.

In his new role, Mr. Hamdallah will oversee the development of purpose-built products and business models, according to the company.

“Rizal's track record of bold thinking, big ideas and positive impact through food have made him a force in the industry and a perfect fit for our company’s unique Five Aspirations business model,” said Sally Grimes, chief executive officer of Clif Bar. “Under Rizal’s leadership, innovation at Clif Bar will accelerate how we redesign the business of food for health, equity and Earth.”

Mr. Hamdallah in 2015 founded GetBetty, Inc., a Chicago-based startup offering on-demand beauty services. In 2019 he was named one of the Boston Business Journal’s “40 under 40” honorees. He also holds a patent for his work on dispenser technology and a master’s degree in product design and development management from Northwestern University.