Feb 20, 2018

Ocean Spray CEO to leave co-op, replacement named

Randy Papadellis, president and chief executive officer of Ocean Spray Cranberries recently announced his plans to leave the cooperative on July 1 after a successful 18-year career.

Bobby Chacko, who has been serving as senior vice president and chief growth officer since 2017, has been promoted to president and chief operating officer effective immediately.

“It has been an honor to work with my colleagues on behalf of our Grower-Owners for the past 18 years,” Papadellis said in news release. “As I move on to the next phase of my career, I know the business will continue to thrive under Bobby’s leadership.”

Papadellis will remain on the board and continue as CEO until July. His career in the food and beverage industry spans more than 35 years and includes some of the top brands in the business: Cadbury Schweppes, Frito Lay and Welch’s.

“His leadership over the past 18 years has been critical to our success and growth,” said Peter Dhillon, chairman of the Ocean Spray board of directors.

Ocean Spray’s board of directors will continue working on its CEO succession plan over the coming months and anticipates an orderly transition before Papadellis leaves the Co-operative this summer.

“While this is the first public announcement in our CEO succession plan, it is just the latest step in a multiyear process,” Dhillon said. “When Bobby joined Ocean Spray last fall, it quickly became clear that we had found a leader for our next generation of talent and the board looks forward to working with him during this transition.”

Chacko said he looked forward to working with Papadellis during the transition.

“Ocean Spray can truly be called the original farm to table company and it’s going to be exciting to bring this story to new consumers,” Chacko said.

Prior to joining Ocean Spray, Chacko served as regional president of Mars Drinks where he had complete responsibility for the North American business.

Above: Randy Papadellis, president and chief executive officer of Ocean Spray Cranberries to leave the Cooperative on July 1, 2018, after a successful 18-year career. (PRNewsfoto/Ocean Spray)