THOMASVILLE, Ga., Aug. 21,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Flowers Foods, Inc.
(NYSE: FLO) today announced two transitions to the senior
leadership of the company and the election of two new members to
the board of directors. The following changes are effective
September 1, 2023:
- Heeth Varnedoe, chief operating
officer at Flowers, will begin serving as president and chief
operating officer of the company. Varnedoe has held a number of key
management roles at Flowers, including chief transformation
officer, senior vice president of DSD Regions/Sales, and president
of the Phoenix bakery.
- Terry S. Thomas, currently a
member of the board of directors of Flowers Foods, will resign as a
member of the board and join the company as chief growth officer,
reporting to Ryals McMullian, chairman, chief executive officer,
and president. A new position at Flowers, the chief growth officer
is responsible for leading and managing growth initiatives, product
development and innovation, marketing, and customer partnerships.
Thomas has extensive experience working globally in the consumer
goods industry, most recently as global chief customer officer at
Unilever. Previously, he has held executive and management
positions at PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Clorox, and Procter &
Gamble. Thomas holds a bachelor's degree in economics
from Northwestern University and an MBA
from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
"Congratulations to Heeth on his well-deserved promotion,"
commented McMullian. "Over the last few years, Heeth has overseen a
number of transformative initiatives at Flowers and has proven
himself to be an extremely capable senior executive. Going forward,
Heeth will be taking on a number of additional responsibilities and
I am supremely confident that he will continue to make significant
contributions to our success.
"I'm looking forward to working directly with Terry to uncover
new revenue streams for the company, one of the key
responsibilities of his role," McMullian continued. "Terry's global
experience working at a senior level for some of the most respected
CPG companies in the world will be invaluable to us as we continue
to transform Flowers into a consumer and brand-centric
company."
The Flowers Foods board of directors has elected two new
independent directors, effective October 1,
2023:
- Brigitte King is the global
chief digital officer at Colgate-Palmolive Company, where she
oversees digital commerce, digital marketing and omnichannel brand
strategies. King has extensive digital and consumer marketing
experience, and held senior roles at PVH Corp. and at L'Oréal,
serving as their Chief Consumer Officer, prior to joining Colgate.
King holds a bachelor's degree in political science from
Clark University. She will serve on the
audit committee and finance committee of the board.
- Joanne Smith is executive vice president and chief people
officer at Delta Air Lines, where she oversees talent management
and development, recruitment, HR service delivery, diversity and
inclusion, and HR policies and programs. While at Delta, she has
also held product development and marketing roles. Smith holds a
bachelor's degree in business administration from California
Polytechnic State University. She will serve on the audit committee
and finance committee of the board.
"On behalf of the entire board of directors, I'd like to welcome
Brigitte and Joanne as the newest Flowers board members," said
McMullian. "The expertise and perspective they bring will add
significant support for two of our four strategic priorities:
focusing on our brands and developing our team. Their guidance will
be a great benefit to the board – and the more than 9,000 Flowers
employees – as we work to become a more agile and innovative
company."
About Flowers Foods
Headquartered in Thomasville,
Ga., Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO) is one of the largest
producers of packaged bakery foods in the
United States with 2022 sales of $4.8
billion. Flowers operates bakeries across the country that
produce a wide range of bakery products. Among the company's top
brands are Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread, Wonder, Canyon
Bakehouse, and Tastykake. Learn more at www.flowersfoods.com.
FLO-CORP FLO-IR
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release and certain other
written or oral statements made from time to time by Flowers Foods,
Inc. (the "company", "Flowers Foods", "Flowers", "us", "we", or
"our") and its representatives that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements relate to
current expectations regarding our business and our future
financial condition and results of operations and are often
identified by the use of words and phrases such as "anticipate,"
"believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend,"
"may," "plan," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would," "is
likely to," "is expected to" or "will continue," or the negative of
these terms or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking
statements are based upon assumptions we believe are reasonable.
Forward-looking statements are based on current information and are
subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual
results to differ materially from those projected. Certain factors
that may cause actual results, performance, liquidity, and
achievements to differ materially from those projected are
discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K (the "Form 10-K") and
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission ("SEC") and may include, but are not limited
to, (a) unexpected changes in any of the following: (1) general
economic and business conditions; (2) the competitive setting in
which we operate, including advertising or promotional strategies
by us or our competitors, as well as changes in consumer demand;
(3) interest rates and other terms available to us on our
borrowings; (4) supply chain conditions and any related impact on
energy and raw materials costs and availability and hedging
counter-party risks; (5) relationships with or increased costs
related to our employees and third-party service providers; (6)
laws and regulations (including environmental and health-related
issues); and (7) accounting standards or tax rates in the markets
in which we operate, (b) the loss or financial instability of
any significant customer(s), including as a result of product
recalls or safety concerns related to our products, (c) changes in
consumer behavior, trends and preferences, including health and
whole grain trends, and the movement toward less expensive store
branded products, (d) the level of success we achieve in developing
and introducing new products and entering new markets, (e) our
ability to implement new technology and customer requirements as
required, (f) our ability to operate existing, and any new,
manufacturing lines according to schedule, (g) our ability to
implement and achieve our environmental, social, and governance
goals in accordance with regulatory requirements and expectations
of stakeholders, suppliers, and customers; (h) our ability to
execute our business strategies which may involve, among other
things, (1) the ability to realize the intended benefits of
completed, planned or contemplated acquisitions, dispositions or
joint ventures, (2) the deployment of new systems (e.g., our
enterprise resource planning ("ERP") system), distribution channels
and technology, and (3) an enhanced organizational structure (e.g.,
our sales and supply chain reorganization), (i) consolidation
within the baking industry and related industries, (j) changes in
pricing, customer and consumer reaction to pricing actions
(including decreased volumes), and the pricing environment among
competitors within the industry, (k) our ability to adjust pricing
to offset, or partially offset, inflationary pressure on the cost
of our products, including ingredient and packaging costs; (l)
disruptions in our direct-store-delivery distribution model,
including litigation or an adverse ruling by a court or regulatory
or governmental body that could affect the independent contractor
classifications of the independent distributor partners, (m)
increasing legal complexity and legal proceedings that we are or
may become subject to, (n) labor shortages and turnover or
increases in employee and employee-related costs, (o) the credit,
business, and legal risks associated with independent distributor
partners and customers, which operate in the highly competitive
retail food and foodservice industries, (p) any business
disruptions due to political instability, pandemics, armed
hostilities (including the ongoing conflict between Russia and
Ukraine), incidents of terrorism, natural disasters, labor strikes
or work stoppages, technological breakdowns, product contamination,
product recalls or safety concerns related to our products, or the
responses to or repercussions from any of these or similar events
or conditions and our ability to insure against such events, (q)
the failure of our information technology systems to perform
adequately, including any interruptions, intrusions, cyber-attacks
or security breaches of such systems or risks associated with the
implementation of the upgrade of our ERP system; and (r) the
potential impact of climate change on the company, including
physical and transition risks, availability or restriction of
resources, higher regulatory and compliance costs, reputational
risks, and availability of capital on attractive terms. The
foregoing list of important factors does not include all such
factors, nor does it necessarily present them in order of
importance. In addition, you should consult other disclosures made
by the company (such as in our other filings with the SEC or in
company press releases) for other factors that may cause actual
results to differ materially from those projected by the company.
Refer to Part I, Item 1A., Risk Factors, of the Form 10-K, Part II,
Item 1A., Risk Factors, of the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July
15, 2023 and subsequent filings with the SEC for additional
information regarding factors that could affect the company's
results of operations, financial condition and liquidity. We
caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements, as they speak only as of the date made and are
inherently uncertain. The company undertakes no obligation to
publicly revise or update such statements, except as required by
law. You are advised, however, to consult any further public
disclosures by the company (such as in our filings with the SEC or
in company press releases) on related subjects.
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SOURCE Flowers Foods, Inc.