Hostess Brands Appoints Darryl Riley to Be Company's First Chief Sustainability Officer
Reporting to the CEO, Position Underscores Hostess Brands' Focus on Sustainability
Hostess Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:TWNK), a leading sweet snacks company, today announced that Darryl Riley has been appointed to the newly created position of Chief Sustainability Officer, effective immediately. Riley, who most recently served as Senior Vice President, Quality, Food Safety and R&D, will report to Andy Callahan, President and CEO of Hostess Brands.
"As Hostess Brands continues to focus on building a socially responsible, modern-day snacking powerhouse, we believe dedicating an executive leadership position to sustainability will drive continued progress and integration," said Callahan. "With his deep industry expertise and operational experience, Darryl is the ideal leader to help us integrate our sustainability-first approach with our sustainable profitable growth mindset."
In his new role, Riley will expand the company's capabilities to develop and execute strategies to drive its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) objectives and initiatives. Riley also will lead efforts to develop awareness, education, training, and measurement programs that inspire employees to embrace sustainability and further integrate ESG into the company culture.
Riley joined Hostess Brands in 2016 as Senior Vice President, Quality, Food Safety and R&D. Prior to joining Hostess Brands, he held positions of increasing responsibility at various food companies, including Kraft Heinz and Kellogg Company. Riley earned his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
Hostess Brands also announced that Mike Cramer, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, who was critical in establishing the Hostess Brands corporate sustainability framework, including our Corporate Responsibility Reports in 2021 and 2022, will transfer ESG responsibilities to Riley. Cramer will continue to be a member of the leadership team with primary responsibility for government & labor relations, mergers & acquisitions (M&A), along with special projects for the CEO and the board of directors, effective immediately.
"Mike's contributions to building the modern-day Hostess Brands since our 2013 relaunch under a bold new vision and operating model have been immeasurable, and we are fortunate to have Mike's knowledge and wisdom as we continue our growth journey," said Callahan.
Cramer has served in his current role since 2013. Prior to that, he held various executive roles with several private and public consumer products companies, including Pabst Brewing Company, Pinnacle Foods, Ghirardelli Chocolate, International Home Foods and The Morningstar Group. He also was the President and Chief Operating Officer of Southwest Sports Group and President and Chief Operating Officer of the Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars. He is a Senior Fellow in the College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin, and he earned his juris doctor degree at Marquette University Law School.
About Hostess Brands, Inc.
Hostess Brands, Inc. is a leading sweet snacks company focused on developing, manufacturing, marketing, selling and distributing products in North America under the Hostess® and Voortman® brands. The Company produces a variety of new and classic treats, including iconic Hostess® Donettes®, Twinkies®, CupCakes, Ding Dongs® and Zingers®, as well as a variety of Voortman® cookies and wafers. For more information about Hostess Brands, please visit hostessbrands.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements reflecting our views about the future performance of the company that constitute "forward-looking statements" that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are generally identified through the inclusion of words such as "believes," "expects," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "anticipates," "will," "plan," "may," "should" or similar language. Statements addressing our future operating performance and statements addressing events and developments that we expect or anticipate will occur are also considered forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements included herein are made only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
As a result of a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, the company's actual results or performance may be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties are identified and discussed in Item 1A-Risk Factors in the company's annual report on Form 10-K for 2021 filed on March 1, 2022. All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on the company's behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these risk factors.
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