Lamb Weston Holdings has announced that Senior Vice President and CFO Robert McNutt intends to retire on August 6, 2021. He will be succeeded by Bernadette Madarieta (pictured above), who will report to Tom Werner, the Eagle, Idaho, USA-headquartered frozen potato product specialist company’s president and chief executive officer.
“I want to thank Rob for his leadership and his many contributions to Lamb Weston as we have developed into a strong independent company. He has played an important role helping us navigate the challenges of operating during the Covid-19 pandemic while building a strong finance team with deep expertise,” said Werner.
“I am proud of what we have built at Lamb Weston over the past several years,” said McNutt. “I believe the company is well positioned to take advantage of opportunities in the global category as frozen potato demand improves. Bernadette has been a key senior member of our finance team, and I am confident in her experience and strong leadership capabilities.”
“It gives me great confidence to know that Bernadette is stepping into this role,” added Werner. “Not only does she have a deep understanding of the Lamb Weston business, she is also highly respected by her colleagues across the organization. I look forward to working closely with Bernadette in her new role to drive value for all of our stakeholders.”
Madarieta has served as Lamb Weston’s vice president and controller as well as principal accounting officer since November of 2016, when the company was spun off from Conagra. She has more than 20 years of experience leading finance teams for publicly traded companies. Prior to joining Lamb Weston, she was vice president and controller of Packaging Corporation of America, a container board and corrugated packaging manufacturer, and also served as vice president and controller at Boise Inc., a packaging and paper products manufacturer.
In addition to being a major producer of french fries and other value-added potato items distributed to customers around the world for more than 70 years, Lamb Weston and its joint venture partners supply frozen vegetable products and appetizers to both the foodservice and retail sectors internationally.
