Lactalis Canada grows sales team with key appointments
Lactalis Canada has made four appointments to its customer sales team.
Mark Kreckler is now senior director of customer development for Sobeys (effective Feb. 5); Kate Simmie is director of customer development for Walmart (effective Feb. 20); Kelly Backer is senior director of customer development for Costco and all West grocery retail (effective Feb. 20); and Paul Cuaso becomes director of corporate marketing (start date to be confirmed).
“One of Lactalis Canada’s corporate goals is to be the easiest dairy company to do business with, and over the last 18 months, our team has been building an enhanced commercial structure to deliver just this,” said Tom Szostok, SVP, sales at Lactalis Canada, in a statement. “Together, with these new leaders, we look forward to continuing to further elevate our customer partnerships and experience.”
In his new role, Kreckler will oversee enterprise-wide business development for Sobeys with the exception of fluid milk and deli cheese.
He brings more than 25 years of CPG sales experience to Lactalis Canada, most recently serving as sales director at Kimberly Clark. Prior to that, he held the title of senior sales director at Lindt & Sprungli and also previously served as sales director at Mars. Kreckler started his career at Campbell’s Soup Company.
Simmie, meanwhile, will oversee enterprise-wide business development for Walmart with the exception of fluid milk and deli cheese.
She brings more than 15 years of sales experience to Lactalis Canada. Most recently, she served as director of sales planning and strategy at Riverside Foods. Prior to that, Simmie was at Campbell’s Soup Company for eight years where she held numerous positions including director of sales planning and strategy. She also spent six years at Maple Leaf Foods in various sales roles.
Backer will lead enterprise-wide business development for Costco and all West grocery retail with the exception of fluid milk and deli cheese.
With more than 20 years of sales and marketing experience, Backer most recently served as VP of marketing and category development for Wonderbrands. Prior to that, she spent six years at Weston Foods in multiple senior sales roles and six years at McCain Foods in various brand marketing roles.
Finally, in his new role, Cuaso will be responsible for driving alignment, consistency and excellence through all marketing processes and projects.
Accomplished marketing professional with over 20 years of CPG experience in Canada, Cuaso most recently served as the business unit director for the snacking category at General Mills. He began his career in the Philippines working in various marketing capacities at Unilever and Del Monte Inc.
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