Milling & Baking News - September 5, 2023 - 14

TUES | 09 05 2023
People
Varnedoe named Flowers president,
COO; board member into new role
THOMASVILLE, GA. - Flowers Foods,
Inc. has elevated two leaders to new
executive positions within the company,
including the promotion of Heeth
Varnedoe to president and the creation
of the position of chief growth
officer. Flowers also announced
changes to its board of directors.
Mr. Varnedoe has been chief
operating officer at Flowers since
January 2023. He continues as COO.
Mr. Varnedoe joined Flowers in
1990, holding several management
positions, including president of
the company's bakery in Jacksonville,
Fla. He left Flowers in 2000
to pursue other business interests and
rejoined Flowers in 2012 as vice president
of national accounts. In 2016, he was
promoted to president of the company's
Phoenix bakery, and in 2017 he was named
senior vice president of DSD regions/
sales. In January 2021 he was promoted to
chief transformation officer, giving him
oversight of cross-functional initiatives
focused on the company's long-term strategic
plans. His initial assignment as CTO
was the company's digital and enterprise
resource planning initiative.
A graduate of Presbyterian College,
South Clinton, SC, he holds a bachelor's
degree in business administration and
history. Mr. Varnedoe's father, the late
Heeth Varnedoe III, spent his 37-year
career with Flowers, holding the position
of president and COO of the company.
" Congratulations to Heeth on his
well-deserved promotion, " said A. Ryals
McMullian, chairman, chief executive
officer and president. " Over the last few
years, Heeth has overseen a number of
transformative initiatives at Flowers and
has proven himself to be an extremely
capable senior executive. Going forward,
Heeth will be taking on a number
14
MILLING & BAKING NEWS
of additional responsibilities, and I am
supremely confident that he will continue
to make significant contributions to our
and a master's degree in marketing and
international business management at the
Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern
University.
" I'm looking forward to working
directly with Terry to uncover new revenue
streams for the company, one of
the key responsibilities of his role, " Mr.
McMullian said. " Terry's global experience
working at a senior level for some
of the most respected CPG companies in
the world will be invaluable to us as we
Varnedoe
Thomas
King
Smith
success. "
Terry S. Thomas, a member of Flowers'
board of directors, has resigned from the
board to take on the role of chief growth
officer, reporting to Mr. McMullian. In
his new role, Mr. Thomas will be responsible
for leading and managing growth
initiatives, product development and
innovation, marketing, and customer
partnerships.
Mr. Thomas spent nearly 11 years with
Unilever PLC, including the past year and
a half as global chief customer officer for
personal care. In that role he was responsible
for " leading, developing and promoting
Unilever's employees in 190 countries
to deliver net revenue, profit, cash and
share targets for the company's $12 billion
personal care business, " Flowers said.
Earlier he was executive vice president
and chief customer officer for Unilever
US. Prior to Unilever he was with PepsiCo,
Inc. for more than six years in various
vice president roles. Before his time with
PepsiCo, Mr. Thomas held positions with
the Coca-Cola Co., Clorox Co. and Procter
& Gamble Co.
He received a bachelor's degree in
economics at Northwestern University
continue to transform Flowers into a consumer
and brand-centric company. "
In addition to the leadership changes,
Flowers elected two new independent
directors to its board, effective Oct. 1. Joining
the board are Brigitte King, global chief
digital officer at Colgate-Palmolive Co., and
Joanne Smith, executive vice president and
chief people officer at Delta Air Lines.
Ms. King oversees digital commerce,
digital marketing and omnichannel brand
strategies at Colgate-Palmolive. She has
digital and consumer marketing experience
and held senior roles at PVH Corp.,
the parent company for Calvin Klein, and
at L'Oréal, serving as the latter company's
chief consumer officer for the USA and
Americas region, before joining Colgate.
Ms. King holds a bachelor's degree in
political science from Clark University.
At Delta, Ms. Smith oversees talent
management and development, recruitment,
HR service delivery, diversity and
inclusion, and HR policies and programs.
While at Delta, she also has held product
development and marketing roles. She
holds a bachelor's degree in business
administration from California Polytechnic
State University, San Luis Obispo. MBN
bakingbusiness.com
FLOWERS FOODS
http://www.bakingbusiness.com
Milling & Baking News - September 5, 2023

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