Following the news of the brand’s new headquarters in Boulder, Colorado, and its founders bringing in Craig Shiesley as CEO, Yasso has chosen a new executive leadership team. Joining the brand are Andy Judd, CMO; Paul Kenny, chief customer officer; Robert Machado, chief supply chain officer; and Peter Riccio, CFO.
“Since officially joining Yasso in July, one of my immediate goals was to build a leadership team that had the experience in building and scaling brands so that we could take Yasso’s business momentum to the next level,” said Craig Shiesley, Yasso CEO. “It was important to me to find individuals that not only had both large and small company CPG experience, but also a deep passion for better-for-you food and Yasso. This unique combination makes this a winning, committed executive team that I’m honored to have at Yasso and excited to work with as we build this business together.”
The new executive team was hand selected by Shiesley with the help of founders Drew Harrington and Amanda Klane.
- Andy Judd, CMO: Judd has more than 15 years of extensive experience at both leading dairy and non-dairy companies, working with Shiesley for three years at WhiteWave Foods. Throughout his career, Judd has built go-to-market models at both large CPG companies and also at emerging high-growth brands. Most recently, he served as CMO to One Brands, one of the fastest growing protein bars in the US. Prior to One, he was VP of marketing for the Boulder Brands business unit of Pinnacle Foods, leading all marketing functions of a high-growing portfolio of plant-based and gluten-free brands.
- Paul Kenny, chief customer officer: With nearly 30 years of experience, Kenny has held both domestic and international sales and general management roles at Procter & Gamble, RB, Nabisco Foods, Playtex Products, Combe Inc. and Kind Snacks where he served as EVP of sales. Within those roles, Kenny has been instrumental in facilitating corporate transactions including Playtex Products to Energizer Personal Care in 2007, and Kind Snacks to Mars in 2016.
- Robert Machado, chief supply chain officer: Machado has led companies to improved profitability by instilling supply chain solutions in network optimization, logistics, distribution, manufacturing and inventory management in his more than 30 years of experience. He held senior leadership positions at CPG companies including Kraft, Häagen-Dazs, H.J. Heinz, The Coca-Cola Co. and MillerCoors, where he created best-in-class processes in sales and operations planning and freight optimization and cost of goods sold controls. Prior to joining Yasso, Machado was the COO of First Source LLC, managing the integrated supply chain for the largest candy and nut distributor in the U.S.
- Peter Riccio, CFO: With more than 20 years of experience, Riccio has managed both large CPG companies and emerging brands experiencing high growth. He started his career at Quaker Oats and worked for Diageo and Wrigley Co. before moving to WhiteWave Foods. Riccio held several senior leadership roles at WhiteWave, including VP of dairy operations. After WhiteWave’s acquisition of Earthbound, he served as CFO of the $600 million subsidiary. Riccio most recently served as COO/CFO of WTRMLN WTR prior to joining Yasso.
As the newly renovated Yasso headquarters is finalized in downtown Boulder, these leaders will look to expand their teams and will be working to fill a variety of new roles in operations, sales, marketing and more to support brand growth and platform expansion.
