LAKEVILLE-MIDDLEBORO, MASS. — Randy Papadellis, president and chief executive officer of Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc., has announced plans to step down on July 1 after 18 years with the cooperative. Bobby Chacko, senior vice-president and chief growth officer, has been named president and chief operating officer, effective immediately.
Ocean Spray’s board of directors will continue working on a c.e.o. succession plan over the coming months.
Prior to joining Ocean Spray in 2017, Mr. Chacko was regional president of Mars Drinks with responsibility for the North American business. He has more than 20 years of entrepreneurial and leadership experience encompassing strategy, innovation, marketing and commercialization at companies including The Coca-Cola Co., AB Inbev and GE Capital.
Mr. Papadellis has been president and c.e.o. of Ocean Spray since 2002. His career spans more than 35 years in the food and beverage industry with roles at Cadbury Schweppes, Frito-Lay and Welch’s. He will remain on the board of Ocean Spray.
“On behalf of our growers and board I’d like to thank Randy for everything he has done and continues to do to build the strong global business we have today,” said Peter Dhillon, chairman of the Ocean Spray board of directors. “His leadership over the past 18 years has been critical to our success and growth.
“While this is the first public announcement in our c.e.o. succession plan, it is just the latest step in a multiyear process. When Bobby joined Ocean Spray last fall, it quickly became clear that we had found a leader for our next generation of talent and the board looks forward to working with him during this transition.”