LENEXA,KS — Hostess Brands announced May 10 that food industry and consumer packaged goods veteran Dan O’Leary will join the Company as its Chief Growth Officer on May 10, 2021. Under this newly created role, O’Leary will be responsible for the P&L oversight and general management of the Hostess and Voortman brands as well as overseeing the company’s marketing, R&D and strategy organizations.
O’Leary brings more than two decades of general management, marketing, and operations experience from both large and small companies. As Chief Growth Officer, O’Leary will lead the consolidation of the Company’s innovation and growth capabilities under one team while leading the development of the company’s strategic growth plans to optimize long-term value creation.
“With more than twenty years in the consumer packaged goods industry and a proven track record growing a diverse host of both iconic and emerging brands, Dan is a terrific addition to the Hostess leadership team and we are thrilled to have him join,” said Andy Callahan, President and CEO of the Company. “His thorough knowledge of the CPG industry and deft understanding of business market strategy will help to more rapidly advance Hostess’ innovation agenda and accelerate growth for the Hostess and Voortman brands.”
In addition to P&L oversight and general management of all brands, O’Leary will oversee the Hostess marketing organization and play a part in creating the Company’s M&A strategy. This cross functionality will provide him with insight across all aspects of the business and enable him to deploy resources in a way that best serves the Company’s strategic objectives.
“It is a pleasure to be joining such a dynamic and results-oriented team and to be a part of building our portfolio of iconic brands,” said Dan O’Leary. “I have been continually impressed by the growth the Company has exhibited over the last 5 years and I am excited to be a part of the strategic and forward-looking work that will help to accelerate that growth into the future.”
O’Leary will join Hostess Brands from Tyson Foods, where he served as Group General Manager of Tyson’s Prepared Retail segment. In this role, he was responsible for overall P&L management, strategic brand development, cross functional leadership and people development of the branded retail portfolio. Prior to Tyson, O’Leary held senior management roles at Mizkan America and Kraft Foods.
