Galaxy Nutritional Foods, a producer of nutritious plant-based dairy alternatives for the retail and foodservice markets, announced the appointment of Michael E. Broll as its chief executive officer. Broll has been a member of Galaxy's board of directors since December 2003 and replaces Christopher J. New, as Galaxy's chief executive officer. New, who has been with Galaxy through its restructuring since September 2001, has resigned in order to pursue other opportunities.
New commented, "My role as a change agent within this organization has been fulfilled. I came to Galaxy with the objective of building a team that would be instrumental in reaching long-term profitable growth. This challenge involved repositioning Galaxy's core brands and completing an organizational and financial restructuring in conjunction with our chief financial officer, and financial and legal advisors. I'm pleased that Galaxy is now poised for future growth in net sales and net income, and is operating cash flow positive."
New continued, "It's a pleasure to be transitioning the role of chief executive officer to Mike Broll, as over the past several months I have involved him deeply in the daily operations of Galaxy, and he has assisted me in the accomplishment of several key initiatives."
"I'm honored that the board has asked me to become the chief executive officer of Galaxy Nutritional Foods," stated Broll. "I have had a number of opportunities to work closely with Chris during the past several months since joining the board of directors, and I can assure Galaxy's customers, shareholders and employees that Galaxy today is a stronger, more focused and more disciplined company because of Chris' leadership. Galaxy has a strong relevant brand position that is poised for growth, and I am delighted to have the opportunity to take it forward."
David H. Lipka, Galaxy's chairman of the board, stated, "We would like to thank Chris for his outstanding performance in leading the reorganization, refinancing and repositioning efforts at Galaxy over the past three years, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.
"On behalf of the company and the board of directors," Lipka continued, "we welcome Mike Broll as chief executive officer and look forward to utilizing his vast knowledge and experience in the food industry to produce continued improvement in the growth of Galaxy."
Broll is a private investor and consultant in the food industry and, most recently, was president and CEO, from 1999 to 2002, of Chef Solutions Inc., a subsidiary of Lufthansa Service Group, a business specializing in providing baked foods and prepared meals to food service and retail segments of the food industry. Broll's career also includes major executive assignments with Allied-Domecq Retailing as the head of its total supply chain for North America from 1997 to 1999, Ready Pac Produce, Inc. as president and COO from 1995 to 1997, Nestle USA as the head of all supply chains for the chilled food group in North America from 1993 to 1995, and Pillsbury Company as vice president of operations for the bakery group supply chain from 1991 to 1993.
