DALLAS — Jeff Dawson has been named senior-vice-president and chief accounting officer at Dean Foods Co., effective Jan. 28. He will be responsible for enterprise-wide accounting operations and will report to Jody Macedonio, executive vice-president and chief financial officer.

A certified public accountant, Mr. Dawson has more than 25 years of accounting and finance experience. He joins Dean Foods from Nokia Oy (formerly Alcatel-Lucent S.A.), where he held the role of chief accounting officer for North America. Previously, he held senior financial positions with The Black & Decker Corp. and Georgia-Pacific Corp. He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Texas A&M University.

Mr. Dawson replaces Scott Vopni, who has left Dean Foods to pursue other opportunities.

“We’re thrilled to have Jeff join Dean Foods and bring his extensive experience leading accounting and finance organizations to our team,” Ms. Macedonio said. “Jeff’s abilities as a financial leader, along with his broad expertise in financial reporting, internal controls and process improvements, will help us enhance our capabilities as we move forward.”