People Moves: Goli Nutrition Names Bruce Weiss as CEO; DLA Piper Grows FDA Regulatory Team

Goli Names Bruce Weiss as CEO

Wellness brand and vitamin gummy maker Goli named former Church & Dwight, Kraft Foods and Coca-Cola executive Bruce Weiss as its new CEO earlier this month.

During his time as VP and strategic business unit leader at Church & Dwight, Weiss led the health and wellness division, working with supplement brands such as Vitafusion and L’il Critters.

“I am honored to join Goli as CEO. The brand sits on the cutting edge of nutrition and is reshaping the wellness category, thanks to the team’s remarkable vision and commitment to innovation,” said Weiss in a press release. “Goli has already become a daily part of millions of households. I see enormous potential for continued growth and look forward to helping lead Goli’s purpose of making health simple.”

Weiss joins other recently appointed executive-level team members at the company, including Stratis Phillips as chief legal officer and Elizabeth Carter as CFO. The additions come less than a year after private equity firm VMG made a minority investment in the supplement company.

“In 2022, Goli Nutrition experienced significant growth in product innovation that would not have been possible without the right leadership team,” said Goli co-founder Michael Bitensky. “We are excited and confident that our new executive leadership team will build off of the successes of the past couple years and propel the brand forward to new heights.”

Weiss joins the company on the heels of two separate labeling controversies involving Goli earlier this year. In April, The National Advertising Review Board (NARB) upheld a previous National Advertising Division (NAD) ruling supporting Goli’s right to use the term “Apple Cider Vinegar” (ACV) in the name of its gummy products, but said the company must discontinue certain claims and slogans that suggest the products have similar efficacy as liquid ACV. In May, NAD released a statement recommending that the supplement maker remove messaging from labels and advertising materials that claim or imply its Mixed Berry ashwagandha gummies will improve sexual function, weight loss and physical performance.

Harry Overly Joins Flagstone Foods as CEO

Private label snack manufacturer Flagstone Foods announced this month it has named Harry Overly as CEO.

Overly, who started in the role on September 15, comes to the company from a nearly five-year tenure as president and CEO at dried fruit maker Sun-Maid. He previously held positions at Deoleo, BestSweet, Wrigley, Kraft. No stranger to the snack industry, Overly also held several positions at TreeHouse Foods from 2010 to 2016.

“We are delighted to have Harry at the helm of Flagstone and as an Atlas Operating Partner, further deepening our expertise in food manufacturing and distribution,” said Atlas Holdings partner Ed Fletcher in a press release. “His unparalleled understanding of the snacks category is critical as retailers consistently turn to Flagstone for continuous product innovation.”

Founded in 2010, Minneapolis-based Flagstone Foods manufactures and distributes private label healthy snacks to mass, club, drug, grocery and c-store retailers nationwide. Formerly owned by TreeHouse Foods, the snack producer was acquired by Atlas Holdings in 2019 and was subsequently reestablished as a standalone business. Flagstone produces an array of products including trail mix, glazed nuts, dried fruit and snacking nuts with an ingredient focus on cashews, almonds, walnuts, peanuts, honey and raisins.

As CEO, Overly will continue the company’s focus on sustainability and product innovation, according to the release. Additionally, he will serve as a member of the company’s board of directors, which he joined in July.

“Flagstone Foods is trusted by the nation’s premier retailers to provide the highest quality private label snacks and I am looking forward to joining their talented team,” Overly said in the release. “I hope to bring my deep experience in our core markets to lead Flagstone Foods into the future.”

Mason Dixie Foods Names Amy Boysen VP of Sales

Frozen baked goods brand Mason Dixie Foods announced last week that Amy Boysen has joined the team as VP of Sales, rounding out its sales team.

Most recently, Boysen served as VP of Sales at cookie company Levain Bakery. During the beginning of the pandemic, she helped Levain expand its flagship cookies from bakery-only product offerings into retail, with the frozen pre-baked cookies debuting in Whole Foods Market in April 2021. Prior to her time at Levain, Boysen was director of conventional sales and Hu Products and was a sales manager at KeHe distributors.

“Each quarter I watched as Levain Bakery took shelf space near us, our fun boxes neighboring each other in the endcaps. I admit, I was impressed and kept watching,” said Mason Dixie CEO Ayeshah Abuelhiga in a LinkedIn post.

In a separate LinkedIn post, the brand said, “Amy joins us after disrupting the frozen dessert category with Levain Bakery to help us shake up the frozen breakfast world.”

The announcement comes as the frozen biscuit and scone brand has bolstered its sales team, bringing on Jerry Edwards earlier this summer as chief sales officer and Jasmine Mastroianna as VP of conventional/MULO sales in March.

DLA Piper Grows FDA Regulatory Team with Sharon Lindan Mayl

Global law firm DLA Piper continues to grow its FDA regulatory team with the addition of partner Sharon Lindan Mayl, a former senior FDA official with over 25 years of experience.

Mayl will be tasked with further strengthening the firm’s growing Food, Beverage and Consumer Goods practice based in its Washington, D.C. office.

“Sharon is a well-respected leader and a coalition and consensus-builder,” said DLA Piper regulatory and government affairs chair Edward Smith in a press release. “She has incomparable experience in the food, beverage and consumer goods sector, and her exhaustive and nuanced knowledge of food safety and police will be an invaluable asset in bolstering our FDA regulatory subgroup.”

Mayl’s arrival follows several other FDA regulatory team additions this year, including partner Bethany Hills (New York) and counsels Jarred Reiling (New York), Keo Shaw (San Francisco) and Melissa Gilmore (Washington, D.C.).