Aryzta North America Names New CEO

The maker of Otis Spunkmeyer brand cookies and muffins, Aryzta North America, announced the appointment of several executives to its leadership team on Tuesday. Tyson Yu was named chief executive officer of the firm and John Heffernan is slated to become its president and chief commercial officer North America. 

Yu, 37, joined Aryzta North America 10 years ago and has occupied the role of chief operations officer for the last two years. During his tenure at the company, he has served as president of Canada; head of strategy North America; head of strategy and acquisitions of Fresh Start Bakeries. He will become CEO on February 1, replacing Dave Johnson. 

“I would like to thank Dave for his leadership and contribution in refocusing our North American business in the past two years, improving our customer focus, restructuring and reorganizing the region and successfully launching Project Renew,” Aryzta AG Chief Executive Officer Kevin Toland said in a company press release. “I am pleased that he will continue to stay involved with the group. Tyson has significant experience in our business in various geographic, operational, and functional roles in North America over the past decade. John has been deeply involved in the commercial, innovation, and strategy development across the group. I wish them both every success in their new roles.”

Heffernan, who currently is the group’s chief strategy officer, joined Aryzta in 2018. Before that, he worked as chief development officer of daa plc, founder and CEO of Clearpower and AER, and in a role at McKinsey and Company. In his new role, he will report to Yu. 

Aryzta North America manufactures breads and rolls, sweet baked goods like cinnamon rolls, and puff pastry products. Its brands include La Brea Bakery, Sweet Life, and Great Kitchens. 

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