Werner will remain a director of the company and will work closely with Keller to "ensure a seamless transition," said B&G Foods in a press statement.
"Casey is a food and beverage industry veteran with excellent leadership skills and a proven track record of generating revenue and earnings growth. Casey also has experience with mergers & 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, promote our core values, promote our ESG and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, and generate value for our stockholders," said Stephen C. Sherrill, chairman of the board of directors of B&G Foods.
Keller bring years of past CPG experience, most recently serving as president and CEO of the JDE Peet’s NV, where he led the merger of Amsterdam-based Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE) and Peet’s Coffee, Inc. and the initial public offering of the combined $7bn global coffee and tea company in May 2020. Prior to the merger, Keller was the president and CEO of Peet’s Coffee and led the business through rapid growth in the United States and expansion into China.
Prior to Peets, Keller served as global president of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, a subsidiary of Mars, Inc., where he was responsible for delivering sales and profit growth across the global gum, mints and candy business. Keller joined Wrigley in 2011 as president of Wrigley North America, shortly following the sale of Alberto Culver USA -- where he served as president -- to Unilever in 2011.
"We will continue to focus on organic and acquisition growth, innovation, operational improvements, cost reduction efforts and the creation of stockholder value. At the same time, we will also continue to promote and further enhance B&G Foods’ corporate social responsibility efforts, including the company’s environmental, sustainability and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) efforts,” said Keller.
