Lotus Foods, a heirloom and organic rice and rice ramen company, has hired Andrew Burke as President/COO. The position is the first C-level hire in the history of Lotus Foods, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2020. Co-founders & Co-CEOs Caryl Levine and Ken Lee will remain in their roles and continue to act as the company's visionaries.
Burke will partner with Levine and Lee on the strategic vision for Lotus Foods to drive future growth. In the newly created role, Burke will have direct oversight of all aspects of the company's operations, supply chain management, finance, marketing and sales functions. Burke brings decades of leadership and relevant industry experience having been CEO of TCHO Chocolate, where he led a new corporate strategy with the goal of efficiently scaling the business, and holding prior senior roles at E&J Gallo Winery, Diamond Foods and Nature Box.
Levine and Lee will begin to devote more time to their mission-related endeavors including expanding the number of rice growers using System of Rice Intensification (SRI) farming techniques to reduce water usage and carbon emissions while supporting the livelihoods of family growers, who are mainly women. They will also be increasing their work with OSC2, the Climate Collaborative, Regenerative Organic Certification, as well as the B Corp Collectives #WeTheChange, and The B Corp Climate Collective.
