Hormel Foods has appointed Scott Aakre as vice president of corporate innovation and new product development.

The Spam and Jennie-O Turkey Store manufacturer also announced today (29 March) that Whitney Velasco-Aznar will take over Aakre’s previous role as vice president of marketing for grocery products.

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“Scott’s new position will allow him to focus on our corporate innovation processes and new product development,” said Hormel Foods’ chairman, president and CEO Jeffrey Ettinger.

Aakre joined the company in 1990 as an assistant product manager in meat products and was promoted to various positions within the department. In 1998, he was promoted to group product manager for meat product, then assumed the duties of group product manager for grocery products. He was then promoted to director of marketing for grocery products in 2003, before being named as vice president of marketing for grocery products in 2005.

Velasco-Aznar has more than 19 years of experience as a consumer goods marketer and business manager. She is currently marketing controller for Cereal Partners Worldwide, a 50/50 joint venture between Nestle and General Mills in the UK.

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