BOULDER, COLO. — Mike Keown has been named chief executive officer of Quinn, a Boulder-based maker of microwave popcorn and gluten-free pretzels. He succeeds Kristy Lewis, who will be taking on new roles at the snacks maker.
Mr. Keown has more than 30 years of consumer packaged goods leadership experience, most recently as CEO at Honey Stinger. Earlier, he was president and CEO at Farmer Brothers. He also spent eight years at WhiteWave Foods, including six years as president of coffee creamers and channels and two years as senior vice president of marketing, sales and R&D. He worked for four years as vice president and general manager of the shelf-stable division of The Minute Maid Co. He started his career at Procter and Gamble in sales and marketing.
He received a bachelor’s degree in economics at Northwestern University.
Mr. Keown will be taking on some of the responsibilities of Ms. Lewis, who founded Quinn in September 2010. Ms. Lewis is transitioning into a newly created role of chief visionary officer, where she can exclusively focus on innovation, mission, and the vision of the company. She also has been named chairwoman of the board.
“After 11 years of leading Quinn this is a chance for me to lead where my heart is and to exclusively focus on turning Quinn into a company that stands for the greater common good,” Ms. Lewis said. “I am beyond grateful to be in a position where my job is to help build Quinn with a primary focus on being and doing better in everything that we do. I am thrilled that Mike believes in our vision, and I am really looking forward to working with him as we continue to lead as innovators and game changers in this space.”
Founded in 2010, Quinn promotes “farm-to-bag” ingredient transparency for its snacks that are sold in more than 10,000 retail stores nationwide. In 2020, the company expanded into Walmart stores and increased distribution in Whole Foods Market, Kroger and Wegmans. The company saw additional growth through partnerships with online retailers Thrive Market, Hungryroot and Imperfect Foods. The company has achieved 60% growth in revenue year over year since 2019.