Kenneth G. Romanzi, a 22-year veteran of the food, beverage and consumer goods business who most recently was president of Hasbro's U.S. toy division, has joined Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. as senior vice president and chief operating officer of the cooperative's largest division, its domestic food and beverage business.
Romanzi has more than two decades of executive and management experience with some of the leading brands in the business, including Nabisco, Cadbury-Schweppes and Frito-Lay. In addition to his marketing background with Frito-Lay and Cadbury, Romanzi was president of the Nabisco Foods sales organization in the late 1990s, as well as president of its Refrigerated Foods Division. He also has a background in entrepreneurial start-ups. As CEO of the Ultimate Juice Company from 2001 to 2003, he was a prime force behind the national expansion of Naked Juice, a small but highly successful brand of super-premium refrigerated juices.
The company's domestic marketing, sales and research and development organizations now report to Romanzi, who reports to CEO Randy Papadellis.
"Ken brings a wide breadth of consumer marketing experience and a fresh jolt of entrepreneurial innovation to running one of the premier juice and food brands in the U.S.," said Papadellis. "He will be responsible for synchronizing all of the marketing, sales and R&D activities that will keep Ocean Spray at the forefront of consumer consciousness."
Ocean Spray's own Stewart M. Gallagher will be Romanzi's counterpart in the global marketplace as senior vice president and chief operating officer of Ocean Spray International, the cooperative's fastest-growing division. Gallagher, who joined Ocean Spray in 1992, has held several top leadership positions in the organization, both domestically and internationally.
In addition to his International role, Gallagher has been selected to lead the development of new marketing, sales and distribution alliances with other companies in the U.S. and around the world. Those partnerships are a strategic imperative for Ocean Spray as it moves to build critical mass in the global marketplace.
"With Ken Romanzi leading the domestic charge and Stu Gallagher running international growth and pursuing those key alliances, our winning team just became a lot stronger," said Papadellis. "We're building leadership to bring the Ocean Spray brand to a whole new level."
Romanzi graduated from Babson College in 1982, beginning his career that year with Frito-Lay Inc., where he became director of marketing for the company's Fritos, Cheetos and Ruffles brands. He later moved on to Cadbury Schweppes, rising to the position of vice president of marketing and strategic planning for the company's North American business. At Nabisco in the late 1990s, Romanzi was president of sales and logistics for Nabisco Foods Group, responsible for four operating divisions with $2.5 billion in revenue. He joined Nabisco as president of its Refrigerated Foods Division.
After leaving Nabisco and before becoming president of Hasbro's U.S. toy division, Romanzi was the CEO of a series of entrepreneurial ventures, including the Ultimate Juice Company and Balducci's Direct, a gourmet food catalogue and internet business.
