Last updated on June 7th, 2017 at 09:03 am
Phoenix, Arizona-based Café Valley has appointed Brian Owens CEO, effective June 2.
Owens succeeded Larry Polhill, Café Valley’s current CEO and president, who assisted in taking the company from a regional bakery to a leading national brand and global supplier during the past 12 years. Today, Café Valley is a global manufacturer of ready-to-eat bakery products sold in grocery, mass merchandise, club stores and foodservice outlets.
Polhill remains president of the company.
Owens has 20-plus years of leadership, sales and growth experience in the bakery industry. He most recently served as CEO of Minneapolis-based Le Petit Pain, where he managed three major acquisitions and integrations while tripling sales over a three-year period. Prior to that, he served as SVP of business development at Los Angeles-based Aryzta AG, where he established a successful continuous improvement program across 23 North American bakeries. He also served as the co-president of the Il Fornaio Bakery division and managed a successful sale of the business to Aryzta.
“We are pleased to appoint Brian as CEO of Café Valley,” said Polhill. “In his brief time here he has brought a renewed focus to our brand premise and he’s installed a number of operational changes that focus on excellence every day, every shift and in every product we produce. We’re in the midst of a record period of growth and success at Café Valley, and Brian is the perfect candidate to continue this positive momentum forward.”
Owens handles all major corporate decisions and manages daily operations and resources, while serving as the primary liaison to the board of directors, according to Café Valley.
In addition to still serving as president, Polhill will continue to provide counsel to the board as chairman emeritus.
Founded in 1987, Café Valley produces bakery products for in-store bakeries, club stores, foodservice and convenience stores throughout the world. Products include croissants, muffins, Bundt cakes, ring cakes, loaf cakes, Danishes, turnovers and café bites.
With facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, and Marion, Indiana, Café Valley products are available to mass retailers throughout the U.S.
