JACKSON, MICH. — Dawn Foods has promoted Melissa Bautista to senior vice president of operations in North America and Jen Taggart to vice president of North America manufacturing.

Both Bautista and Taggart will focus on constantly improving the long-term growth strategy of Dawn Foods, the company said. More specifically, Bautista will oversee manufacturing; continuous improvement; environmental, health, safety and security (EHS&S); engineering; and food safety and quality assurance. Taggart will manage the North American plant directors of Dawn Foods, focusing on process enhancements and technology integration across its manufacturing network, the company said.

Bautista most recently was vice president of operations at Dawn. Prior to Dawn, she was vice president of manufacturing at Utz Brands, Inc., where she also worked as a plant manager. Bautista also has worked at Berlin Packaging and Frito-Lay.

 Taggart previously was plant director at Dawn’s Louisville, Ky., manufacturing facility, where she was instrumental in advancing continuous improvement and innovation, Dawn said. Prior to Dawn she was a plant manager at Vehicle Service Group. Earlier, she was with Metal Sales Manufacturing Corp., General Mills, Brown-Forman and Dietrich Metal Framing.

“These leadership announcements reflect Dawn’s commitment to the growth and development of our Team Members and highlight the significant contributions Melissa and Jen have made across our organization,” said John Schmitz, president of the North America division at Dawn Foods.