US egg producer Cal-Maine Foods has appointed Keira Lombardo to the newly created role of chief strategy officer (CSO), effective immediately.
“The creation of this role underscores Cal-Maine Food’s commitment to delivering long-term value through operational excellence, innovation, and deeper stakeholder engagement,” the company said in a statement.
Lombardo has been brought in as an external appointment and will “work to align the Mississippi-headquartered egg supplier's internal vision with external priorities”.
She brings more than two decades of experience in food and agriculture. Previously, Lombardo was the CEO of Dairy MAX, a dairy organisation representing approximately 700 farmer families across eight US states.
Before Dairy MAX, Lombardo was a senior executive at meat major Smithfield Foods, which is owned by China's WH Group and recently made its debut on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Sherman Miller, president and CEO of Cal-Maine, said: “Her leadership will support our ability to continue to execute our long-term strategy and leverage our disciplined capital allocation into meaningful stakeholder returns – partnering with the team to unlock new growth opportunities, navigate complexity, and strengthen our performance in a dynamic environment.”
Lombardo added: “Cal-Maine Foods leads with scale and operational strength – and continues to evolve through innovation, discipline, and strategic focus. I look forward to collaborating with the leadership team to build on that momentum and help drive long-term value across the business.”
The appointment follows the issuance in July of Cal-Maine’s financial results for the year to 31 May.
Net sales jumped by more than 83% to $4.3bn. The company said growth was driven by higher volumes and increased net average selling prices of shell eggs.
Operating income surged to $1.5bn from $312m a year earlier. Net income attributable to the company climbed to $1.2bn from $278m.
In April, Cal-Maine Foods agreed to acquire Echo Lake Foods, a breakfast foods manufacturer, for approximately $258m.
Echo Lake Foods produces a range of ready-to-eat egg products and breakfast items, including waffles, pancakes, diced eggs, and frozen cooked omelettes.
Miller said in the results announcement looking at the year ahead: “We believe we have a proven operating model and the operational scale that allows us to continue to expand our shell egg production capacity and product mix, both organically and through strategic acquisitions.
“With the addition of Echo Lake Foods, we have a significant opportunity to continue to pursue additional growth in our prepared foods portfolio, which we expect will diversify our product offering, leverage our existing distribution channels and expand our reach in retail, quick-service restaurants, and other foodservice customers.”
