Cotton
Alanna Cotton was appointed president and chief business officer of Ferrero North America, parent company Ferrero Group announced July 27.
Effective Sept. 1, Cotton will be responsible for the chocolate maker’s U.S., Canadian and Caribbean business. She succeeds Todd Siwak, the former president and CEO of Ferrero Group’s Ferrara unit, who took the role in September 2021. Siwak has decided to return to the private equity sector.
Cotton will be responsible for building on the company’s growing footprint for brands like Kinder, Butterfinger, Nutella and Tic Tac. She’ll report directly to Ferrero Group CEO Lapo Civiletti.
Cotton was most recently an executive at Coca-Cola, where she was president of operations for central and eastern Europe, serving as general manager for 26 countries and over 150 brands. She was previously senior vice president and general manager at Samsung Electronics America, where she led the high growth segments of the consumer technology markets, including personal computing, virtual reality, wearables and mobile audio. She’s held executive positions at PepsiCo Inc. and Procter & Gamble as well.
Cotton joins Ferrero North America during a period of growth. The company is currently expanding its capabilities in North America, with a new Innovation Center and R&D Lab in Chicago and a chocolate processing plant and Kinder Bueno line in Bloomington, Ill. Additionally, with support from the Southwestern Ontario Development Fund, Ferrero is creating new jobs and automation at its Brantford, Ontario plant.
“I’m excited to join Ferrero North America and lead this incredible team and portfolio of beloved brands on its continued growth trajectory,” said Cotton. “The company’s global presence and rapid expansion on the continent is impressive and I’m thrilled to help move the business forward in this new chapter.”
