AUSTIN, Texas -- Amplify Snack Brands, maker of better-for-you snacks such as SkinnyPop popcorn and Paqui tortilla chips, has added two former DanoneWave executives to its leadership team.
Greg Christenson is now Amplify’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Craig Shiesley is chief operating officer and president, North America.
The addition of the food-industry veterans is part of Amplify’s quest to become a major global snack player. “I am confident [Christenson and Shiesley] will help us execute on our long-term plan of growing into a multi-billion-dollar, global better-for-you snack-food company,” President and CEO Tom Ennis said in a statement.
Ennis cited the execs’ experience at WhiteWave (now DanoneWave), “where they grew a business that was at a similar stage in the development curve to Amplify.”
Austin, Texas-based Amplify has been growing rapdily in the last several years, acquiring Paqui in 2015 and Tyrrells potato chips and Oatmega protein bars in 2016.
Christenson had served as CFO and senior vice president of WhiteWave. He helped the company grow, playing a role in its acquisition of six companies and later its sale to Danone, Amplify said in a statement. Christenson has also held leadership roles at Oberto Brands and Kraft Foods.
Shiesley was most recently president of DanoneWave’s Vega plant-based protein products and the performance nutrition division. He led the key acquisition of Vega Nutritionals and helped expand that brand to the United Kingdom, Amplify said.
Along with the hires, Amplify’s former CFO Brian Goldberg is moving into the newly created role of chief strategy officer. He will focus on global corporate-development initiatives including strategic partnerships and M&A, the company said.
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