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The basics:

• Freshpet leadership transition moves co-founder Scott Morris to advisor role
• COO Nicki Baty will add president title, oversee operations
• CHRO Thembi Machaba promoted to chief administrative officer
• Succession plan positions $1B business Freshpet for its third decade of growth

Freshpet has served the needs of pet owners and their furry friends for two decades and counting. After debuting a brand-new, award-winning headquarters in 2025, the market disruptor has now unveiled a transition plan across its top ranks.

Company co-founder and President Scott Morris will transition to an advisory role Oct. 20 – Freshpet’s 20th anniversary. He will stay on as an advisor for 18 months following the transition, according to a June 24 announcement from the Bedminster-based brand.

Morris’s move also prompted a series of internal promotions. Freshpet says the succession plan, underway for several years, sets the company up to enter its third decade with strong leadership, scaled operations and room to grow.

Upon Morris’s transition, current Chief Operating Officer Nicki Baty will add the title of president. Baty joined the company two years ago as part of that transition plan. Following the changes, she will continue to report to CEO Billy Cyr. Her responsibilities will include overseeing commercial and supply chain operations.

Additionally, current Chief Human Resources Officer Thembi Machaba will take on the additional role of chief administrative officer, effective immediately.

In the expanded role, she will add responsibility for sustainability initiatives, community relations, property management, corporate security and key management processes.

Freshpet said Morris’s “innovation responsibilities” will transition to a newly created chief innovation officer role. Freshpet confirmed to NJBIZ it is still recruiting for that role.

Founded along with Cathal Walsh and John Phelps, Freshpet began with a mission to create something different. And it certainly has.

“For nearly 20 years, Scott and I have shared the challenges, setbacks, risks and victories that come with building a company from scratch. Scott has always believed that if you take care of pets, people and partners, good things happen. That philosophy helped shape the culture and values that define Freshpet today.

— Cathal Walsh, co-founder & managing director of Europe

Today, the company has more than $1 billion in annual sales. It boasts three manufacturing kitchens and approximately 1,300 employees around the world.

Last year, Freshpet moved from Secaucus into its build-to-suit Commercial Center of Excellence in Bedminster in Somerset County. Morris guided the design, which emphasizes sustainability, employee-focused amenities and, of course, features a dog daycare.

“We’re tightening up and we’ll have a very small desk and then tons of open space,” he told NJBIZ at the groundbreaking for the HQ. “The whole upstairs will be tight desks, it’ll be yours. But if you have a call, there’s tons and tons of breakout areas … little rooms that you go to. And then downstairs is this beautiful open … space and meeting rooms and everything else. And then we’ll have a covered pergola area.”

“Look, we’re trying to get work done; and it’s not like we hang out, but it feels like a nice environment,” he added.

Board Chair Walter George and Cyr both credited Morris for his passion and leadership in building Freshpet.

“When we started Freshpet nearly 20 years ago, we simply wanted to build the kind of pet food company we wished existed,” Morris said in this week’s announcement. “We believed pets deserved fresh food, retailers deserved a better partner, and employees deserved a company with a real sense of purpose. What happened next exceeded what we originally imagined.

“Freshpet has been an amazing adventure. I am incredibly proud of what we have built together and proud to leave a great company and great business in the hands of an amazing group of people. The leadership team, employees and partners who will carry Freshpet forward are ready to write the next chapter,” Morris said.