PARSIPPANY, NJ. – Kenneth C. “Casey” Keller has been named president and chief executive officer of B&G Foods, Inc., effective June 14. He comes to the packaged goods manufacturer from JDE Peet’s NV, where he was president and CEO.
Mr. Keller will replace David L. Wenner, who served as interim president and CEO since November. Mr. Wenner will remain a director of the company.
Prior to joining JDE Peet’s, Mr. Keller was global president of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., a business unit of Mars, Inc. He also worked at the H.J. Heinz Co. in both the United States and Europe.
“Casey is a food and beverage industry veteran with excellent leadership skills and a proven track record of generating revenue and earnings growth,” said Stephen C. Sherrill, chairman of B&G Foods board of directors. “Casey also has experience with mergers and acquisitions and public company finance, most recently guiding JDE and Peet’s Coffee through a successful merger and post-merger IPO. We believe that Casey is the right person to lead B&G Foods and drive our organic and M&A growth strategy …”