The Hain Celestial Group has announced that its Board of Directors has named a new president and chief executive officer -- Mark L. Schiller. 

Schiller's new role becomes official on November 5, 2018, and he will be nominated as a director of the company at the annual meeting of shareholders on December 5th. He will succeed Irwin D. Simon, Hain Celestial's founder, president, and chief executive officer.

Schiller will lead the company's next phase of growth, according to a statement from the company.

The Hain Celestial Group is a leading organic and natural products company with operations in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The company's brands include Jason Natural Products and Alba Botanica, shown above, in addition to its many food brands.

Schiller joins Hain Celestial with a proven track record of strategic leadership including more than 25 years of executive experience in key consumer packaged foods leadership roles at Pinnacle Foods, Inc., PepsiCo, Inc. and other companies. 

Most recently, Schiller served as Pinnacle Foods' executive vice president and chief commercial officer where he was responsible for overseeing its multi-billion dollar grocery and frozen segments which represented the vast majority of Pinnacle Foods' consolidated sales and profitability.  

Andrew R. Heyer, Hain Celestial's lead director comments, "After an extensive search with many qualified candidates, we are thrilled...Mark is a highly accomplished consumer packaged foods executive with an impressive track record of reinvigorating growth and improving margins for many iconic brands."

Heyer continues, "Under Mark's leadership, Hain Celestial will accelerate its business transformation through the execution of our four-point strategic plan investing in top brands and capabilities to grow globally, delivering on Project Terra cost savings, continually enhancing leadership across the organization, and building upon our enviable position as a leader in organic, natural and better-for-you products, to create sustainable, long-term value for our stockholders."

Schiller says, "I am excited and honored to have the opportunity to lead Hain Celestial, and have long admired the company's vision and mission for its organic, natural and better-for-you brands...I look forward to working with the team as we build upon the company's strong foundation and take Hain Celestial's business to the next level of growth." 

Photo: Mark Schiller via LinkedIn