Freshpet names CEO

Freshpet Inc. announced Wednesday that its board of directors has named a veteran consumer packaged goods executive as the company’s new CEO.William Cyr will be the Secaucus-based natural pet foods company’s CEO, effective Sept. 6. The company also expects Cyr to join its board at that time.

Cyr has more than 30 years of experience in the consumer packaged goods industry. He most recently served as CEO and president of Sunny Delight Beverages Co. He also was with Proctor & Gamble Co. for a number of years, most recently serving as vice president and general manager of the North American Juice Business and Global Nutritional Beverages.

“After an extensive search, we are delighted that Billy Cyr will join us as chief executive officer of Freshpet. Billy is a highly accomplished consumer packaged goods executive with strong experience in leading brands that have a refrigerated supply chain and we welcome his leadership, brand and innovation expertise as we continue to gain share in existing retailers and expand into new retail partners in North America and abroad. We have every confidence Billy has the right combination of strategic leadership and personnel skills to lead Freshpet into a new phase of growth and build value for our stockholders. In addition, we are grateful to Walt George and Scott Morris for their strong leadership during this time of transition,” Charlie Norris, chairman of the Freshpet board of directors, said in a prepared statement.

 “Billy will bring extensive experience and great leadership to the Freshpet team. His entrepreneurial spirit, passion around innovation and disruption fits well with our strong culture of growth. We look forward to him helping us reach the fullest potential of the company, creating the next horizon for Freshpet and achieving our mission to improve the lives of pets by bringing them the power of fresh, natural food,” Scott Morris, Freshpet’s co-founder, president, and chief operating officer, said in a prepared statement.

“I am honored and excited to have the opportunity to lead Freshpet and join a strong team with significant experience in the pet food industry,” Cyr said in a prepared statement.  “I have admired the Freshpet brand and its differentiated pet food products and believe that we have tremendous opportunity for future growth both domestically and internationally. I look forward to working with Scott, our leadership team and employees to realize the growth potential of Freshpet.”