Board of Directors

James M. Kilts, Chairman of the Board of Directors, is a renowned leader in the consumer industry, with over 40 years of experience leading a range of companies and iconic brands. Mr. Kilts is the Founding Partner of Centerview Capital Consumer, founded in 2006. Previously, Mr. Kilts served as Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President of Gillette from 2001 until it merged with The Procter & Gamble Company in 2005; at that time he became Vice Chairman of the Board of The Procter & Gamble Company. Before Mr. Kilts joined Gillette, the company’s sales had been flat for 4 years, and it had missed earnings estimates for 14 consecutive quarters. Mr. Kilts took steps to rebuild the management team, cut costs and reinvest the savings in innovation and marketing. During his tenure as Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kilts oversaw the creation of approximately $30 billion in equity value for Gillette’s public shareholders. Gillette’s share price appreciated 110% during Mr. Kilts’ tenure, while the S&P 500 declined 3% over the same time period. Under Mr. Kilts’ leadership, Gillette rejoined the top ranks of consumer products companies as sales increased an average of 9% each year. The Harvard Business Review cited Mr. Kilts’ leadership as the driving force behind Gillette’s turnaround. Prior to Gillette, Mr. Kilts served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Nabisco from 1998 until its acquisition by The Philip Morris Companies in 2000. Before joining Nabisco, Mr. Kilts was an Executive Vice President of The Philip Morris Companies from 1994 to 1997 and headed the Worldwide Food group. In that role, Mr. Kilts was responsible for integrating Kraft and General Foods and for shaping the group’s domestic and international strategy. Mr. Kilts had previously served as President of Kraft USA and Oscar Mayer. He also had been Senior Vice President of Strategy and Development, President of Kraft Limited in Canada, and Senior Vice President of Kraft International. Mr. Kilts began his career with General Foods Corporation in 1970. Owing to Mr. Kilts’ successes across the consumer industry, numerous companies seek his business expertise and advice. Mr. Kilts is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Viatris Inc., where he has service since November 2020 and Advantage Solutions Inc., from October 2020 where he is Lead Director. Mr. Kilts is also a member of the Board of Overseers of Weill Cornell Medicine. Previously, Mr. Kilts served as a member of the Board of Directors of Nielsen Holdings PLC from January 2011 until December 2013, Chairman of the Board of Nielsen Holdings N.V. from January 2011 to January 2014, and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Nielsen Company B.V. from 2009 to January 2014. Mr. Kilts was previously a member of the Board of Directors of MetLife, Inc., from 2005 until June 2020, Pfizer Inc. from 2007 until November 2020, Unifi Inc., from April 2016 until July 2022, Conyers Park II Acquisition Corp. from July 2019 until October 2020, Big Heart Pet Brands from March 2011 to March 2015 (during which time he served as Chairman), MeadWestvaco from 2006 to April 2014, The New York Times Company from 2005 to 2008, May Department Stores from 1998 to 2005, Whirlpool Corporation from 1999 to 2005, Chairman of the Board of the Grocery Manufacturers Association from 2003 to 2005, and Delta Airlines from 2002 to 2004. Mr. Kilts is also a former member of Citigroup’s International Advisory Board. Mr. Kilts received a bachelor’s degree in History from Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois and earned an MBA degree from the University of Chicago.

Geoff E. Tanner has been President and Chief Executive Officer since July 2023. Mr. Tanner joined Simply Good Foods as President, Chief Operating Officer and CEO-elect as well as a member of the Board of Simply Good Foods on April 3, 2023. Mr. Tanner has more than 20 years of experience driving financial and marketplace results for leading food companies. From October 2019 through February 2023, Mr. Tanner served as Chief Commercial & Marketing Officer of The J.M. Smucker Company (“Smucker”). In this position, Mr. Tanner oversaw the more than $8 billion JMS Commercial organization, leading a successful transformation of the company’s marketing and sales organizations, helping Smucker deliver successive years of growth in organic sales, profits and market share. Prior to that, at Smucker Mr. Tanner was Senior Vice President, Growth and Innovation from 2016 to 2019 and General Manager, Pet Snacks Business Unit and Vice President, Marketing from 2015 to 2016. Mr. Tanner brings significant expertise in strategy and business development, operations, brand building, innovation, omnichannel strategy and revenue management to his role at Simply Good Foods. From 2013 to 2016, Mr. Tanner had executive roles at Big Heart Pet Brands and Del Monte Foods (the predecessor of Big Heart Pet Brands). Earlier in his career, Mr. Tanner was a senior strategy consultant at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young.

Joseph E. Scalzo has served as the Executive Vice Chair of the Board since July 2023. Mr. Scalzo served as the Simply Good Foods Chief Executive Officer from July 2017 to July 2023, as well as President from July 2017 to April 2023. Mr. Scalzo became a member of the Board of Simply Good Foods in July 2017. Mr. Scalzo also served in those same roles for Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. from February 2013 until its acquisition in 2017. Before joining Atkins, Mr. Scalzo served as a director of Earthbound Farm from 2010 to October 2013. From November 2005 to February 2011, Mr. Scalzo served as a senior executive in various roles at Dean Foods, including as President and Chief Operating Officer, as well as President and Chief Executive Officer of WhiteWave Foods, Inc. Mr. Scalzo is credited at Dean for leading the transformation of its WhiteWave Foods Company, which began as three separate businesses, into a winning consumer foods company. Prior to that, Mr. Scalzo held executive roles at The Gillette Company, where he spearheaded the successful three-year turnaround of the company’s one billion dollar global personal care business, and The Coca Cola Company. Mr. Scalzo is a director of Treehouse, Inc., Freshpet, Inc. and previously served as a director of HNI Corp. from 2003 to November 2009 and Focus Brands from March 2014 to January 2021. Mr. Scalzo began his career at Procter & Gamble in 1985 and received a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame.

Clayton C. Daley, Jr. spent his entire professional career with The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), a global consumer packaged goods company, joining the company in 1974. There, Mr. Daley held a number of key accounting and finance positions including Chief Financial Officer and Vice Chairman of Procter & Gamble; Comptroller, U.S. Operations of Procter & Gamble USA; Vice President and Comptroller of Procter & Gamble International; and Vice President and Treasurer of Procter & Gamble. Mr. Daley retired from Procter & Gamble in 2009. Mr. Daley also served as Senior Advisor to TPG Capital until October 2012. Mr. Daley has been a director of SunEdison, Inc. (OTC:SUNEQ), a solar power company, since 2014 and served as a director and was Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Compensation and Option Committee of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:HOT), a hotel and leisure company, from 2008 to 2016. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Davidson College and an MBA from Ohio State University.

Nomi P. Ghez has over 30 years of experience working with consumer companies. Ms. Ghez was affiliated with Goldman Sachs from 1982 to 2003, most recently acting as a senior banker within the consumer sector of Goldman Sachs’ Mergers and Strategic Advisory Division, as well as a Partner and Managing Director. From 1982 to 2000, Ms. Ghez was Goldman Sachs’ food analyst in Investment Research, covering major U.S. and global food and consumer companies. Since 2003, Ms. Ghez has been a co-founding partner of Circle Financial Group, LLC, an integrated private wealth management group of nine professional women. In 2004, Ms. Ghez was a Portfolio Manager, Consumer Sector for Perry Capital LLC, a hedge fund. Ms. Ghez has served on the Board of Directors of Lipman Family Farms, a private fresh tomato company, since 2008 and on its Governance and Audit Committee since 2013, and was a Director of Maidenform Brands, Inc. (NYSE:MFB) from 2011 until its sale to HanesBrands (NYSE:HBI) in 2013, serving on its Audit Committee from 2012 to 2013. Ms. Ghez received a B.A. and M.A. from Tel Aviv University and a Ph.D. from New York University.

Michelle P. Goolsby is an accomplished executive with leadership experience across many functions and has extensive food and beverage experience as well as knowledge of the consumer-packaged goods marketplace. Ms. Goolsby served for ten years, from 1998 to 2008, on the senior executive team of Dean Foods where she held the positions of Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Administrative Officer and head of Corporate Development. Prior to Dean Foods, Ms. Goolsby was a partner at Winstead, P.C., one of the largest business law firms in Texas. Ms. Goolsby serves as an Advisory Board member at Danone North America. This Advisory Board focuses on environmental, social and governance commitments relating to Danone North America’s status as a public benefit corporation and a certified B corporation. Previously, Ms. Goolsby served as a member of the Board of Directors of WhiteWave Foods Company from 2012 until its sale to Danone in 2017. During her board membership at WhiteWave, Ms. Goolsby served as the Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Compensation Committee. Additionally, Ms. Goolsby currently serves as a Board member of Capstead Mortgage Corporation (NYSE: CMO), a publicly traded real estate investment trust, where she chairs the Compensation Committee and serves on the Executive Committee. Ms. Goolsby also previously served as a venture partner and member of the Investment Committee at Greenmont Capital Partners II, a private equity firm in Boulder, Colorado focused on investing in companies in the natural products industry.  Ms. Goolsby is active in her community and is a founding member of the Center for Women in Law at The University of Texas at Austin School of Law. She also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of Vitamin Angels Alliance. Ms. Goolsby received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from The University of Texas at Austin, a juris doctor degree from The University of Texas at Austin School of Law, and a master’s of arts degree from the Simmons School of Education and Human Development at Southern Methodist University. Ms. Goolsby holds a Climate Leadership Certification from the Diligent Institute, which is designed to provide corporate leaders with the skillset to effectively oversee climate risk and create sustainable growth strategies.

Robert G. Montgomery has 40 years of experience in the consumer package goods industry, including sales, marketing, research and development positions on both an operational and executive level. From 2003 until 2010, Mr. Montgomery was successively a Senior Vice President, Sales, a Senior Vice President, Sales, Marketing & R&D and an Executive Vice President at Birds Eye Foods, Inc., a privately held frozen foods company. From 1998 to 2003, Mr. Montgomery served as Vice President of Sales in different divisions of HJ Heinz Company, a global food producer. Prior to this, from 1982 to 1998, Mr. Montgomery worked at McCain Food, Inc., as Vice President of Sales-Retail. Mr. Montgomery has held positions at Family Brands, Inc as Vice President of Sales, ConAgra Frozen Food Company as Area Vice President, Sara Lee Corporation as National Sales Planning Manager and Division Sales Manager and Del Monte Corporation as Senior Account Representative. In 2010, Mr. Montgomery founded and since has been a principal of Montgomery Consulting Solutions, a consulting firm specializing in sales, marketing and business strategies in the consumer packaged goods industry. In 2010, Mr. Montgomery also co-founded and since has been a principal of Jurs Montgomery Brokerage, LLC, a firm specializing in life insurance, long term care, disability and annuities. In 2016, Mr. Montgomery joined the board of directors of Wyman’s of Maine, a producer of frozen fruit. Mr. Montgomery holds a bachelor’s degree in management from Seton Hall University. Mr. Montgomery holds a Certificate in Cybersecurity Oversight, issued by the CERT Division of the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

Brian K. Ratzan has been a Partner of Centerview Capital Consumer since April 2014. Mr. Ratzan has over 20 years of private equity investing experience. Prior to joining Centerview Capital Consumer, Mr. Ratzan was Partner and Head of U.S. Private Equity at Pamplona Capital Management from January 2012 to February 2014. Prior to joining Pamplona, Mr. Ratzan was Managing Director and Head of Consumer at Vestar Capital Partners, which he joined in 1998. Mr. Ratzan also previously worked at ‘21’ International Holdings, a private investment firm, and in the Investment Banking Group at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette. Mr. Ratzan is a member of the Board of Directors of Advantage Solutions Inc. and previously served on the boards of consumer companies including Del Monte Foods, The Sun Products Corporation (formerly known as Huish Detergents, Inc.), and Birds Eye Foods, Inc. Mr. Ratzan holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Michigan, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and an MBA degree from Harvard Business School.

In September 2020 David W. Ritterbush became the CEO of Califia Farms a consumer packaged goods company that produces plant based dairy alternatives. From March 2017 through August 2020, Mr. Ritterbush was the CEO of Quest Nutrition. Prior to joining Quest Nutrition, Mr. Ritterbush served as Chief Executive Officer of Popchips (Sonora Mills, Inc.), a manufacturer of popped rice, corn, soy, and other grain-based snack food products, from August 2015 to February 2017. While at Popchips, Mr. Ritterbush’s responsibilities included organization leadership, restructuring, sales turnaround, refreshed branding and new product innovation, supply chain restructuring, co-manufacturing and global procurement. Previously, from April 2009 to March 2015, Mr. Ritterbush held leadership positions with Premier Nutrition Corporation, a manufacturer and retailer of beverage products, bars and shakes, including Chief Executive Officer, Post Active Nutrition from April 2014 to March 2015; Chief Executive Officer, Premier Nutrition from August 2010 to March 2014; and Chief Operating Officer from April 2009 to August 2010. While at Premier Nutrition, Mr. Ritterbush reorganized the organization, led a significant turnaround of the supply chain across facilities and co-manufacturers, restructured the sales organization, and actively participated in strategy formation and acquisitions. Prior to this, Mr. Ritterbush was Vice President/General Manager-West Business Unit, for Red Bull North America, from October 2007 to March 2009, with leadership for the West Business Unit including sales, marketing, supply chain, finance and accounting. Previously, Mr. Ritterbush was a sales and marketing executive with Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, Inc., for over 16 years, with various positions of increasing responsibility, including serving as Senior Vice President of Marketing-Packaged Products from October 2006 to October 2007, where he was responsible for product design, pricing, and consumer positioning. During this period, Mr. Ritterbush served as a member of Dreyer’s Operating Committee, Dreyer’s Graphics Development team, and a board member of the Starbuck’s Ice Cream partnership. Mr. Ritterbush received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration, Marketing from San Diego State University. Mr. Ritterbush serves as an Independent Director for Farmer Brothers Coffee (FARM – NASDAQ). Mr. Ritterbush is on both the Compensation Committee and the Corporate Governance Committee. Additionally, he is an Independent Director for Humm Kombucha, a private company based in Bend Oregon.

Joseph J. Schena is a consumer products industry executive with 40 years of experience in the areas of financial operations and accounting, strategy and business planning, investor relations and mergers & acquisitions. Mr. Schena had served as the Chief of Staff at Cohen Enterprises, a private holding company, focused on C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc. and Warehouse Technologies from November 2015 until April 2019. Mr. Schena also served as a director of Warehouse Technologies until January 2020. Previously, Mr. Schena served as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President at C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc. Prior to joining Cohen Enterprises, Mr. Schena served as the Chief Executive Officer and President at Bacardi International Limited and as the Chief Financial Officer of Bacardi Limited. Mr. Schena was an Operating Partner at Centerview Capital Consumer from 2007 to 2012 focused on financial operations of portfolio companies. Mr. Schena was involved in the $5.5 billion privatization of Del Monte Foods and the acquisition of Richelieu Foods. Mr. Schena served as the Vice President of Global Financial Operations, Chief Accounting Officer and Controller at The Gillette Company and transitioned to the Chief Financial Officer of the Gillette business unit of Procter & Gamble (“P&G”) after P&G acquired Gillette in October 2005 where Mr. Schena was responsible for Gillette’s business results as well as integrating Gillette’s and P&G’s financial operations. Prior to Gillette, Mr. Schena served in various senior financial and strategy positions at Kraft/Nabisco from 1980 to 2000. Mr. Schena was previously a director of Conyers Park II Acquisition Corp. and Welch Foods Inc. Mr. Schena received both an MBA in Finance and a BBA in Accounting from Iona College.

David J. West is an established leader in the consumer industry, with nearly 30 years of experience leading a range of companies and well-known brands. Mr. West became a partner of Centerview Capital Consumer in May 2016. Prior to joining Centerview Capital Consumer, Mr. West served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Big Heart Pet Brands (formerly known as Del Monte Foods) from August 2011 to March 2015, at that time one of the world’s largest pure-play pet food and treats company whose brands included Meow Mix®, Kibbles ‘n Bits®, Milk-Bone®, and others. Mr. West helped reposition the business to increase focus on growth and innovation, launched new products such as Milk-Bone Brushing Chews®, enhanced specialty pet distribution channels through the acquisition of Natural Balance Pet Foods, and developed a marketing culture to effectively promote products. Mr. West worked closely with Mr. Kilts during this time period, as Mr. Kilts was Chairman of the Board of Big Heart Pet Brands. In February 2014, Mr. West oversaw the sale of Del Monte Foods’ Consumer Products business and changed the company’s name to Big Heart Pet Brands, reflecting its singular focus on pet food and snacks. During his tenure as Chief Executive Officer, Mr. West oversaw the creation of approximately $2 billion of equity value for investors. Big Heart Pet Brands was sold to The J. M. Smucker Company in March 2015, at which time Mr. West served The J. M. Smucker Company as President, Big Heart Pet Food and Snacks until March 2016 and as a Senior Advisor until April 2016. Prior to joining Del Monte Foods, Mr. West served as the Chief Executive Officer, President and a director of Hershey from 2007 to May 2011. Under Mr. West’s leadership, Hershey enjoyed strong profits, net sales growth and shareholder returns, and was recognized as one of the World’s 100 Most Innovative Companies by Forbes Magazine in 2011. During Mr. West’s tenure as Chief Executive Officer, Hershey increased its investment in domestic and international operations, improved the effectiveness of its supply chain and business model, and accelerated its advertising, brand building and distribution programs. During Mr. West’s tenure as Chief Executive Officer, public shareholders of Hershey experienced more than $5 billion of equity value creation. Hershey’s share price appreciated 68% during this time period, while the S&P 500 grew 0%. Prior to his Chief Executive Officer role, Mr. West held various leadership positions at Hershey including Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Customer Officer, and Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development. Prior to joining Hershey in 2001, Mr. West spent 14 years with the Nabisco Biscuit and Snacks group, where he held a range of senior positions including Senior Vice President, Finance, and Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Business Planning, a role in which he helped shape and execute Nabisco’s strategy, culminating in the acquisition of Nabisco Holdings Corp. by The Philip Morris Companies in 2000. At Nabisco, Mr. West worked closely with Mr. Kilts during Mr. Kilts’ tenure as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. West is a member of the Board of Directors of Advantage Solutions Inc. and was a member of the board of directors of Hershey from 2007 to 2011, Del Monte Foods from 2011 to 2014, Big Heart Pet Brands from 2014 to 2015 and The J. M. Smucker Company from 2015 to 2016. Mr. West received a bachelor of science degree, cum laude, in Business Administration from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

James D. White is a seasoned business leader with 30 years of industry knowledge, primarily within the consumer-packaged goods and retail sectors. Since 2019, Mr. White has been the owner of Culture Design Lab, which provides culture transformation and diversity, equity, and inclusion consulting services to companies, Boards of Directors and management teams. Since March 2020, Mr. White has been the Executive Chair of the Board of Directors of Air Protein Inc., a private company. Mr. White served for eight years, from 2008 to 2016, as the Chairman, President and CEO of Jamba Inc. During his tenure Mr. White led the successful turnaround and transformation of the company from a made-to-order smoothie shop to a global, healthy active lifestyle brand. Prior to Jamba Inc., from 2005 to 2008, Mr. White was Senior Vice President and General Manager of Safeway, Inc., a leading U.S. supermarket chain. From 1983 to 2005 Mr. White held management roles at Gillette, Nestle Purina and Coca-Cola.

Mr. White currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors The Honest Company (Nasdaq: HNST), and a member of the Board of Directors of Affirm Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: AFRM), Cava Group, Inc. (NYSE: CAVA) and Schnucks Supermarkets (private). He previously served on the boards of public companies Adtalem Global Education (2015 to 2021) and CallidusCloud (2016 to 2018) and private companies, Panera Bread Company-JAB Holdings, Bradshaw Home, Daymon Worldwide, Hillshire Brands and Keane Inc. His non-profit board experience includes Directors Academy, where he is a founding member and currently Board Chairman, as well as Board Chairman for Fair Trade USA. He previously served on the non-profit boards of the NASDAQ Entrepreneurial Center, The Organic Center and the Network of Executive Women. Mr. White received a Bachelors of Science degree, with a major in marketing, from The University of Missouri and an MBA from Fontbonne University. He is also a graduate of the Cornell University Food Executive Program and was a Stanford University Distinguished Careers Institute Fellow in 2018.