Chris Sliva, TreeHouse Foods
Christopher D. Sliva has been named president of TreeHouse Foods.

OAK BROOK, ILL. — Christopher D. Sliva has been named president of TreeHouse Foods, Inc. Mr. Sliva has been executive vice-president and chief operating officer of TreeHouse Foods and president of Bay Valley Foods since 2012. In his new role, he will maintain operating responsibility for both Bay Valley and TreeHouse Private Brands.

Sam Reed, TreeHouse Foods
Sam K. Reed, chairman and c.e.o. of TreeHouse Foods

“Chris’ contributions over the last four years have both strengthened and advanced our organization and culture,” said Sam K. Reed, chairman and chief executive officer of TreeHouse Foods. “I’m proud of the way Chris has led our company through the operational complexity that is inherent in private label. Because of his leadership and efforts to focus our organization on simplification, our legacy business has delivered gross margin expansion year in, year out. Chris has also been the driving force in focusing our organization on the private label fundamentals of customers, categories, consumers and organizational capabilities. As we look forward, it is under Chris’ tutelage that we are designing an organizational structure to deliver on the transformative potential of the TreeHouse promise to our customers.”

Prior to TreeHouse, Mr. Sliva held various positions at Dean Foods during a six-year tenure, including chief commercial officer for the Fresh Dairy Direct business, president and c.o.o. of the Morningstar subsidiary, and chief customer officer for WhiteWave Foods. Before that, Mr. Sliva held sales and marketing positions with Eastman Kodak Co., Fort James Corp. and Procter & Gamble Distributing Co.

As Mr. Sliva steps up in the company, Dennis F. Riordan plans to step down from his position of executive vice-president, chief financial officer and interim president of TreeHouse Foods’ Private Brands. The company has initiated an executive search to find a new c.f.o., after which Mr. Riordan will transition to a senior adviser role.

Dennis Riordan, TreeHouse Foods
Dennis F. Riordan plans to retire from his position of executive vice-president, c.f.o. and interim president of TreeHouse Foods’ Private Brands.

“Dennis’ leadership has been instrumental to our company’s growth, and he has been key to delivering shareholder returns that have exceeded that of the industry,” Mr. Reed said. “He has been a quintessential leader as we have built the company from $700 million in revenue to $7 billion, and under his guidance, we now have robust accounting, finance, investor relations, tax and IT teams. We greatly appreciate his many contributions. As we lay the operational and organizational foundations upon which to build the transformed TreeHouse of our future, Dennis will continue to play an important role.”

Mr. Riordan joined TreeHouse Foods soon after its formation in 2005. During his 10-year tenure, Mr. Riordan oversaw the financial and infrastructure growth of TreeHouse through a series of acquisitions, the company said, most recently the acquisition of ConAgra Foods, Inc.’s Private Brands business.

“I am very proud of what we have accomplished here at TreeHouse, as well as the tremendous opportunity that lies ahead,” Mr. Riordan said. “We are still in the early days of the next chapter of our company — establishing a larger and even stronger foundation for the next round of strategic growth through acquisitions. To that end, I believe we will benefit from fresh ideas and new perspectives, while allowing me to focus exclusively on integration and strategic activities.”