Cholula, the Mexican hot sauce brand, has made a batch of senior level appointments including new chief executive Maura Mottolese.
New Jersey-based Cholula, which was acquired by US private-equity firm L Catteron in December for an undisclosed sum, has also brought in new personnel to head up its finance, marketing and foodservice operations, all of whom have held previous management roles in the food and drinks industry.
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Cholula is named after the Mexican city of the same name and is produced in the state of Jalisco. The brand was brought to the US in 1989 and was formerly backed by a group of investors including Mexican tequila manufacturer Jose Cuervo.
Mottolese has more than two decades of experience in food and beverage, and recently served as CEO of US biscuits maker Tate’s Bake Shop, which was bought by snacking giant Mondelez International last summer. She has also held roles at The Switch Beverage Company, Cadbury Beverages, Labatt USA, Snapple Beverages Group and Cadbury Schweppes.
She said: “Cholula is a beloved and powerful brand, and I’m thrilled to join the company at this exciting time in its evolution. I have tremendous respect for Cholula’s authenticity and heritage, and I see enormous potential for growth in the years to come. I look forward to working alongside the exceptional leadership team we have assembled to realise the significant opportunity inherent in this unique and iconic brand.”
In other appointments, Mike Nathenson has been named as chief financial officer. He was previously CFO of Blue Buffalo, the pet care brand owned by US food heavyweight General Mills. His former leadership roles include CFO of Dean Foods, while he also served as senior vice president at PepsiCo.
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By GlobalDataMiguel Leal has been brought in as chief marketing officer. He was executive vice president of US healthy snack brand Kind, which is now partly owned by Mars. His history includes positions at Diamond Foods, while he also served as brand manager at PepsiCo-owned Frito-Lay.
David Yarmoff has been appointed senior vice president of operations having previously served in the same position at beverages firm Lassonde Pappas, while Clay Lichterman will become Cholula’s VP of foodservice sales. He was previously the director of sales at the Talking Rain Beverage Company.
No mention was made in a statement announcing the personnel changes for the reasons behind such a large reorganisation of senior level positions, or the people previously holding the roles.
