Dole Packaged Foods Expands Leadership Team
Dole Packaged Foods expands its U.S. leadership team as part of its strategy to make nutritious foods accessible for 1 billion people, move toward zero fruit loss and zero fossil-based plastic packaging by 2025, and achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030. Heading the new appointments are Juan Carlos ("JC") Dalto, president and managing director, Americas, including North and Latin America, and Örzse Hódi, VP of marketing.
Along with current team members Michael Walton, VP of retail sales, and Stuart McAllister, VP of foodservice/industrial sales and marketing, the group will work with the global team to continue the transformation of a 170-year-old company into a purpose-led business.
The enhanced leadership team will focus on purpose-driven, consumer-centric, top-line growth in the Americas, in conjunction with The Dole Promise.
"The Americas team will continue to drive our transformation under the Dole Promise with a focus on growth through people, planet and prosperity," said Pier Luigi Sigismondi, president of Dole's Worldwide Packaged Foods division. "We know that the goals set forth in our Promise will only be made possible by keeping our eyes, ears and doors open to people with the experience and innovations that can move us quickly forward."
JC Dalto joined the Dole team in January 2021 as president and managing director of Dole Packaged Foods in the Americas, including North and Latin America, succeeding Brad Bartlett, who retired at the end of 2020. Originally from Argentina, Dalto brings over three decades of focused fast-moving consumer goods and food experience, spending more than half of his career with nutrition and wellness companies around the world including Danone, The Pillsbury Company, Kraft Foods, and most recently, Savencia Fromage & Dairy. A worldwide Italo-Argentinean executive, Dalto and the other new leaders will work from Dole's Americas headquarters in Westlake Village, CA.
"The need for good nutrition for all is something that is universal, and something I have been working towards throughout my career," said Dalto. "I am excited to join this team and to be a part of a company that is purpose-built, focused on the consumer, and is committed to working together to achieve ambitious goals towards sustainable and profitable growth."
The executive team will look to support the ambitious goals set forth in The Dole Promise with a focus on bridging the gaps to good nutrition for all: accessibility, acceptability, awareness, and waste reduction and grow value for the company's stakeholders, including farmers and shareholders.
"I'm delighted to join the Dole Packaged Foods executive team in the Americas. I look forward to working closely with the team to build campaigns that push us forward and that help us make an impact with our customers and with the world," said Hódi, who joined the team this month. Originally from Hungary, she comes with significant experience in the Food and CPG environment, previously vice president of Marketing and Innovation at Foster Farms. Prior, Hódi held leadership positions with the fresh bakery division of Grupo Bimbo Bakeries, gaining exposure to and a strong familiarity with the Latin American market.
Michael Walton joined Dole in September 2019 and now serves as VP of retail sales. An accomplished senior sales executive with more than 19 years of consumer-packaged foods experience, Walton brings his sales operations, customer management and trade strategy development expertise to bear in this new role. Previously, Walton served as head of channel and customer development, beauty and personal care at Unilever, working across multiple trade areas including natural/specialty, e-commerce, mass, club, drug and grocery.
Finally, Stuart McAllister's journey with Dole began in 1989 as a summer intern, and over the past three decades he has held roles with increasing responsibility in marketing, sales and sales strategy. Now, as VP, sales and marketing foodservice and industrial, he brings a combination of operations and sales experience, as well as marketing and planning processes from across the organization. McCallister previously led the marketing planning process, developed packaging, and conducted sales negotiations with customers in Japan, the United States and Europe.