USA — Italian confectionery company Ferrero Group, has promoted chief executive officer of Ferrara Candy Co. Todd Siwak to president and chief business officer of Ferrero North America.
Siwak is succeeding Paul Chibe, who had been in the position since 2015, and is now taking on a new international assignment from this month within Ferrero Group as Global President, Sugar Confectionery and Gums.
In his new role, Mr. Siwak will be responsible for driving the strategic objective of expanding Ferrero business in the US, Canada, and the Caribbean.
This includes growing its Ferrero’s importance in the cookie category with Keebler and other cookie brands such as Famous Amos and Mother’s.
With the North American market being an important growth driver for Ferrero, Siwak also comes on board to lead the transition from being part of an international region to its own distinct area reporting directly to Lapo Civiletti, CEO of Ferrero Group.
During his seven years at Ferrero Candy, Siwak oversaw significant revenue and profit growth as a result of organisational restructuring, product revitalisations, and the elimination of operational inefficiencies.
His impressive work at Ferrero Candy, therefore, makes him an excellent choice for the position even as Ferrero works on its global business strategy of strengthening its position in the sweet packaged food category.
Prior to joining Ferrara Candy, Mr. Siwak was an operating partner at Catterton and earlier was CEO, founding partner and president of TRG Accessories.
“I’m proud to join Ferrero North America and to build on the momentum here. Ferrero has an impressive portfolio of iconic brands and a reputation for product quality and excellence.” said Siwak.
“I’m eager to work closely with this talented team and continue to bring value to the market, while strengthening Ferrero’s position in North America.”
Succeeding Mr. Siwak as CEO of Ferrara is Marco Capurso, the immediate former chief business officer, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa for Ferrero.
In his new role, Mr. Capurso will intensify Ferrara’s focus on international growth for its sugar confections business.
Mr. Capurso has been with Ferrero for 24 years, holding a variety of country management positions across the world.
Before joining Ferrero in 1997, he was with Kraft Foods for nine years, including two years as marketing director of grocery products and seven years in sales and marketing roles.
Earlier, the Ferrero group entered the premium chocolate bar category with a 90g bar chocolate with a total of seven flavours.
The company believes that the new chocolates launched under the Rocher and Raffaello brands will help further cement its position within the wider category.
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