Boulder, Co., USA - June 12, 2015, Boulder, Co., USA - Boulder Brands, Inc., a food maker, announced that Stephen B. Hughes has resigned as chief executive officer and as a member of the Boulder Brands board of directors.
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Mr. Hughes, co-founder of Boulder Brands, Inc., has been Chief Executive Officer and a Director of our Board since inception in May 2005. From 2004 to 2007, Mr. Hughes served as a director of The Cambridge Group, a demand strategy consulting firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
While with Cambridge, Mr. Hughes led or participated in securing new marketing strategy engagements with a number of major consumer packaged goods companies.
From 2002 to 2004, Mr. Hughes served first as Vice President of Sales and then as the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales for White Wave Foods, which at the time was a division of Dean Foods - with brands including Silk, Horizon, International Delight, Land O’Lakes, and Marie’s.
In June 2004, Mr. Hughes was also named Senior Vice President of Marketing and Research for White Wave Foods. Mr. Hughes served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Celestial Seasonings, Inc. from 1997 to 2000, at which time Celestial Seasonings was acquired by The Hain Food Group, Inc.
From 1992 to 1996, he held executive positions with increasing responsibilities at Tropicana Products, Inc., a division of Seagram Company, Ltd. Mr. Hughes was employed with the frozen food division of ConAgra Foods, Inc., as a Vice President for New Products from 1988 to 1989 and as Executive Vice President and General Manager from 1989 to 1992.
In these capacities, Mr. Hughes led the development and launch of the Healthy Choice initial line of frozen foods and the development and launch of products in eight extension categories.
Mr. Hughes holds a BA in economics and political science from Denison University and an MBA degree with a concentration in marketing and finance from the University of Chicago. In June 2013, Mr. Hughes was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Mountain Desert Region in the Retail Distribution & Services Category.
Over his career, Mr. Hughes has held a number of leadership positions in the consumer packaged goods and foods industries.
The Boulder Brands Board of Directors has appointed James B. Leighton, the Company's Chief Operating Officer, to serve as Interim CEO.
Mr. Leighton has been a member of the Boulder Brands Board of Directors since August 2007, and Chief Operating Officer since October 2013. Mr. Leighton is additionally a member of the Board's Finance Committee. From 2009 to 2013, Mr. Leighton held numerous general management positions, including President of Perdue Foods, a large privately-held food and protein company.
From 2006 to 2009, Mr. Leighton served as the President of Operations and Supply Chain and President of Perdue Foods. From 2002 to 2006, Mr. Leighton served as the Senior Vice President of Operations of ConAgra Foods, Inc., one of the largest food companies in the United States. ■