Bloomington, Minnesota, USA-headquartered Schwan’s Company has promoted Brian Schiegg to the position of chief executive officer. He succeeds Dimitrios Smyrnios, who recently announced his retirement after more than a decade of leadership. Schiegg steps into the CEO role following a thorough transition and having most recently served as president of the company’s Consumer Brands business.
“Brian has our full support and confidence of the CJ Foods’ leadership to maintain Schwan’s momentum and propel our company to even greater heights in the future,” said Minsok Pak, chairman of Schwan’s Company’s board of directors and chief executive of Schwan’s parent company, Seoul, South Korea-headquartered CJ Foods. “The North American market is critical to our growth strategy, and I personally look forward to working with Brian to achieve our vision of becoming the No. 1 provider of ethnic cuisine in the United States.”
Schiegg is the seventh CEO in Schwan’s 72-year history. He joined the company in January 2021 and has been heading up Schwan’s Consumer Brands, a business unit that markets and sells frozen foods brands including Red Baron, Freschetta and Tony’s pizza, Mrs. Smith’s and Edwards desserts and Pagoda and bibigo™ Asian-style foods.
During his time with Schwan’s the Consumer Brands division has achieved outstanding growth, with bibigo and Red Baron holding No. 1 market share positions in their respective categories.
Prior to joining Schwan’s, Schiegg accumulated more than two decades of leadership experience in the consumer and packaged goods industry. He previously served as chief operating officer of Ocean Spray Cranberries and has spent many years in leadership roles for subsidiaries and departments of Mars, Inc.
Schiegg earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and English from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California.
“I am honored to be chosen as our new CEO. Schwan’s is an extremely strong company with an amazing heritage, and we have built an extraordinary team of very talented people. Together, we will work to build upon our position as a leader in the North American market and continue to pursue our plans for long-term growth,” said Schiegg.
