ST. PAUL, Minn., Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ventura Foods Members Committee has announced the appointment of Christopher Furman as the new President and CEO of Ventura Foods, LLC., Brea, California. Furman succeeds retiring President and CEO Richard Mazer as head of the edible oil-based food products company, which is a joint venture between CHS Inc., St. Paul, Minn., a leading energy, grains and foods company, and Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Tokyo. Furman's appointment as president and CEO is effective Nov. 9, 2009.
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Furman joins Ventura Foods from PepsiCo, Inc., Purchase, N.Y., where he has held a series of leadership roles with increasing responsibility for more than 20 years, most recently serving as president of the Foodservice Division.
"We are very pleased Chris has decided to join Ventura Foods," says Jay Debertin, executive vice president and chief operating officer, CHS Oilseed Processing. "His broad experience includes leading sales, marketing and operational teams to new heights, and successfully launching and integrating product lines in the food and beverage industry. His dedication to helping customers succeed is an ideal fit with Ventura Foods."
"All of us have great confidence in Chris' ability to continue elevating Ventura Foods' already strong reputation as an industry leader, committed long-term partner and provider of excellent products and services," says Hirokazu Matsumura, general manager, Grain and Oils Division, Foods & Retail Business Unit, Mitsui & Co., Ltd.
"On behalf of the members committee, we also want to thank Rick Mazer for his 12 years of leadership," says Debertin. "While he served as President and CEO, Rick helped grow Ventura Foods to more than $2 billion in annual sales and over 2,400 employees. His many notable accomplishments include acquisition of the Marie's® and Dean's® brand refrigerated salad dressings and dips; consolidation of West Coast operations, and construction of a new state-of-the-art plant in Ontario, Calif."
Ventura Foods, LLC., with headquarters in Brea, Calif., processes a broad range of branded and private label foods. The company has production facilities in 11 locations throughout the U.S. To learn more, see http://www.venturafoods.com/.
CHS Inc. (http://www.chsinc.com/) is a diversified energy, grains and foods company committed to providing the essential resources that enrich lives around the world. A Fortune 200 company, CHS is owned by farmers, ranchers and cooperatives, along with thousands of preferred stockholders across the United States. CHS supplies energy, crop nutrients, grain, livestock feed, food and food ingredients, along with business solutions including insurance, financial and risk management services. The company operates petroleum refineries/pipelines and manufactures, markets and distributes Cenex® brand refined fuels, lubricants, propane and renewable energy products. CHS is listed on the NASDAQ at CHSCP.
Mitsui & Co., Ltd., (http://www.mitsui.com/) is a diversified global trading, investment, and service enterprise headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Mitsui & Co. maintains a global network of 154 offices in 66 countries, and has 558 subsidiaries and associated companies worldwide.
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Ventura Foods, LLC.
CONTACT: Linda Tank of CHS, +1-651-355-5035, Linda.tank@chsinc.com
Web Site: http://www.venturafoods.com/
