John Hatto has joined C. H. Guenther and its Commercial Team. John will be assuming Kelly Crouse’s role as Senior Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer upon Kelly’s departure in Q4 of this fiscal year.
John is a deeply experienced, transformative food and beverage executive. He most recently served as the Chief Revenue Officer of France-based Umiami, developer of a plant protein “chicken breast.” John designed the global go-to-market strategy, built the North American supply chain and global pricing strategy, hired and developed a global sales team, and led the design of a ground-up brand.
John also served as Senior Vice President of Strategy & Growth at Lamb Weston, a global leader in frozen potato products, leading strategy, digital transformation, and mergers and acquisitions. He quadrupled sales and tripled profits while improving customer satisfaction.
The marketing veteran also worked at PepsiCo, based in Dallas, for a combined 17 years, rising from Senior Director to Vice President of Strategy. He managed a $3 million insights and a $40 million R&D budget. He has led customer teams at PepsiCo as well as Umiami and Lamb Weston. He also has served on the boards of IFMA, IFDA and the Child Nutrition Association.
John is an inspirational leader who shares his practical experience and knowledge across teams, functions and geographies, delivering year-over-year financial performance. Four principles shape how he leads and manages: Teamwork, High Performance, Continuous Improvement and Servant Leadership – well aligned with CHG’s People First/High Performance culture.
John graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Marketing.
He and his wife Cassandra are excited about rekindling their relationship with Texas. They have two adult children – Gabe, who is pursuing a PHD, and Sofie, who is studying abroad in Berlin. John and Cassandra love traveling, cooking, hiking, antiquing, outdoor activities and live music. They can’t wait for the Round Top Antiques Fair and Austin City Limits Music Festival!
Rod Hepponstall
President & CEO
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