NASHVILLE, TENN. — Yianny Caparos, formerly president of Crown Bakeries, has been appointed chief executive officer. He succeeds company founder Cordia Harrington, who is transitioning to founder and co-chairperson from CEO. Both Caparos and Harrington are members of the American Society of Baking’s Hall of Fame.
Doug Bame, previously chief operating officer, becomes president. Besides Crown Bakeries, he has worked at other consumer packaged goods businesses, including Hormel Foods, Columbus Craft Meats, Dreyer’s and General Mills. Scott Shelley has been promoted to COO from senior vice president of operations. Kandy Grenier, formerly vice president of human resources, has been named chief people officer.
“This leadership team has the expertise and vision to continue guiding Crown into an exciting future,” Caparos said. “Together, we are focused on navigating this next phase of growth, delivering innovative, superior baked goods that exceed our customers’ expectations and set the standard for excellence in the industry.”
Caparos has been president of Crown Bakeries since 2019 when Arbor first took a stake in the business. His relationship with Arbor dates back to 2008, when the firm acquired a controlling stake in Gold Standard Baking, a business owned by Yianny Caparos and his brother George. Arbor sold Gold Standard to private equity firm Tricor Pacific Capital in 2015.
Harrington established Crown Bakeries in 1996, initially as Tennessee Bun Co., a supplier of buns to quick-service restaurants. The company expanded into other baked foods categories with capital investments and numerous acquisitions, including Nashville Bun Co. in 1999, Cold Storage of Nashville in 2001 and Masada Bakery in 2014. The business was renamed The Bakery Cos. In 2014 and then Crown Bakeries in connection with Arbor’s 2019 investment in the business. Acquisitions accelerated after Arbor took a stake in Crown Bakeries. The company bakes a diverse line of fresh and frozen croissants, buns, bagels, biscuits, sweet goods, and dough products for leading foodservice, food manufacturing, and retail customers in the United States.
Arbor Investments, a private equity firm that focuses on acquiring companies in the food, beverage and related industries, owns Crown Bakeries.
“I am proud of how Cordia and Yianny, together, have built not only a world-class bakery, but also a world-class team,” said Carl Allegretti, president of Arbor Investments and co-chairperson of Crown Bakeries. “They’ve led impressive organic and inorganic growth over the last five years, and it will be exciting to see this new Crown team take the organization into the future. A baking company with three ASB Hall of Fame members (including chief development officer, George Caparos) and two-time Arbor portfolio company executive, Doug Bame, is an unbeatable combination.”