KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Hostess Brands LLC has announced that food industry veteran William Toler has been named president and CEO. Longtime Hostess executive Rich Seban, who most recently served as the company's president and COO, has been named vice chairman.
A colleague of Hostess chairman Dean Metropoulos who previously served as CEO of AdvancePierre Foods and president of Pinnacle Foods, Toler has also served in executive positions at Campbell Soup, Nabisco, Reckitt & Coleman and Proctor & Gamble.
"Hostess Brands has become a dynamic and highly successful business over the past year and our unique and widely recognized brands, including Twinkies, HoHos, CupCakes and Ding Dongs have reconnected with consumers," said Metropoulos. "As we look forward to the company's exciting future, it is important to continue to strengthen the organization and strive to reach new levels of growth through further market expansion, new products and acquisitions."
He added, "Rich has been critical to the successful transition of Hostess and will remain actively involved in the management of the business. I look forward to strengthening our team and working with Bill, who will bring his talents and energy to the next phase of the company's growth. Both individuals will be key to further penetrating our markets and expanding our product offerings to appeal to a broader base of consumers. We have been very pleased with the support of our consumers and retail partners and are excited about what's ahead."
Apollo Global Management LLC and C. Dean Metropoulos & Co. bought Hostess Brands out of bankruptcy in March 2013 for $410 million. The trimmed-down Hostess, now based in Kansas City, Mo., has a far less costly operating structure than the predecessor company. Hostess will now deliver to warehouses that supply retailers, rather than delivering directly to stores. That will greatly expand its reach, letting it deliver to c-stores and dollar stores. Previously, Hostess was only able to reach about a third of the country's 150,000 convenience stores.
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