BLOOMINGTON, MINN. – Julie Francis has been promoted to the newly created role of chief operating officer of Schwan’s Co. In this role, Ms. Francis will lead the management teams for various Schwan’s Co. subsidiaries, including Schwan’s Consumer Brands, Schwan’s Food Service Inc. and SFC Global Supply Chain Inc. She will join the company's executive leadership team and report to chief executive officer Dimitrios Smyrnios.

Ms. Francis joined Schwan's Co. in 2018 as president of Schwan’s Consumer Brands, the subsidiary that sells and distributes its branded foods to grocery and club stores. Prior to joining Schwan's, she was senior vice president of commercial and category development for total beverage alcohol at Constellation Brands, and before that was a director at Nottingham Spirk. Earlier in her career, Ms. Francis spent five years as chief commercial officer for The Coca-Cola Co. and six years in various leadership roles for Coca-Cola European Partners.

“Since joining our company, Julie’s deep industry and operational experience has helped deliver outstanding results for our business and customers,” Mr. Smyrnios said. “She is a values-based leader who possesses a great energy for achieving operational excellence, serving our customers, driving profitable growth and leading people. Julie’s passion for leading people and teams has had a positive impact on the business and our company’s culture. I am excited to see Julie take on this expanded role within Schwan’s.”

Succeeding Ms. Francis in her former role as president of Schwan's Consumer Brands is Brian Schiegg. In his new role, Mr. Schiegg will be responsible for driving growth with brands including Red Baron, Tony’s and Freschetta pizza, Mrs. Smith’s and Edwards desserts, and Bibigo, Pagoda, Minh and Kahiki Asian foods. He will report to Ms. Francis and serve on the company’s executive leadership team.

Mr. Schiegg  most recently was COO and president of Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., leading all US sales, global business units, marketing, planning, manufacturing, global ingredients and supply chain operations. Before his time with Ocean Spray, he spent more than 17 years in management roles at Mars, Inc., and earlier he was a commodity trader for Cargill.

“Throughout his career, Brian has successfully delivered profitable growth across multiple geographies and categories, and I look forward to working closely with him as we continue our efforts to bring delicious foods to families everywhere and deliver the best service possible to our customers,” Ms. Francis said.

Mr. Smyrnios added, “As a company, we are truly fortunate to have both of these outstanding leaders on our team. Their extensive knowledge and expertise in the food industry, strong customer focus and outstanding leadership will help us strengthen our operations, bring elevated service to our customers, and achieve our growth objectives."