SECAUCUS, N.J., Dec. 20, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ: FRPT) today announced a Chief Financial Officer transition plan to support its long-term growth. Dick Kassar, Freshpet’s CFO, will transition into the newly created advisory role of Vice Chairman, effective September 30, 2020. In this role, Mr. Kassar will provide continued strategic advice and support to Freshpet’s management team and the Board of Directors as the Company further pursues its mission to improve the lives of dogs and cats through the power of fresh, real food changing the way people feed their pets.

In support of this planned CFO transition, Freshpet also announced today the appointment of strategic financial and operational executive Heather Pomerantz, currently Vice President of Finance, North America for The Nature’s Bounty Company, to the newly created role of Executive Vice President of Finance, effective January 13, 2020. In this role, Mrs. Pomerantz will lead several strategic projects for Freshpet and work closely alongside Mr. Kassar through the end of the third quarter of 2020 transitioning into the role of CFO, effective October 1, 2020.

Billy Cyr commented, “We are excited to welcome Heather to Freshpet. We believe she has the skills and experiences necessary as we take Freshpet to the next level of growth in 2020 and beyond. Heather has the analytical and strategic acumen we will need as we embark on our capacity expansion plan and continue to build the organization and systems capabilities to support Freshpet’s growth. As a proud pet parent to two dogs, Heather is passionate about our mission to change the way people feed their pets.”

Mr. Cyr continued, “We are very grateful to Dick for all he has done and continues to do during his tenure to make Freshpet a success. He has been an integral part of the Freshpet team since its inception helping to lead us through rapid growth, particularly as the company successfully transitioned from a privately-held to publicly-traded company. Few executives have the range of skills needed to master so many phases of a company’s rapid growth – and Dick has all of them. We are very thankful for his willingness to continue to provide his wisdom as we go through this transition and continue to execute on our strategic growth objectives.”

Prior to Mrs. Pomerantz’s role at The Nature’s Bounty Company, she had a lengthy and distinguished career in both finance and operations at Unilever and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Her roles at Unilever included oversight and leadership of many key finance and operations responsibilities, including sales and marketing finance, financial services, controller, supply chain finance and information technology. At PriceWaterhouseCoopers she was a consultant responsible for ERP implementations. Mrs. Pomerantz received an undergraduate degree with honors in Economics with concentrations in Finance and Marketing from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She earned an MBA from Columbia University.

About Freshpet

Freshpet’s mission is to improve the lives of dogs and cats through the power of fresh, real food. Freshpet foods are blends of fresh meats, vegetables and fruits farmed locally and made at our Kitchens in Bethlehem, PA. We thoughtfully prepare our foods using natural ingredients, cooking them in small batches at lower temperatures to preserve the natural goodness of the ingredients. Freshpet foods and treats are kept refrigerated from the moment they are made until they arrive at Freshpet Fridges in your local market.