Ferrero Group, based in New Jersey, recently appointed Alanna Cotton to the role of president and Chief Business Officer of Ferrero North America, a PR Newswire release said. Cotton will now have full oversight over the company’s U.S, Canada and Caribbean-based operations.
"I'm excited to join Ferrero North America and lead this incredible team and portfolio of beloved brands on its continued growth trajectory," Cotton said in the release. "The company's global presence and rapid expansion on the continent is impressive and I'm thrilled to help move the business forward in this new chapter."
Under her new role, Cotton will be tasked with leveraging the company’s global operations and strengthening its general presence in the sweet-packaging industry. Her role, under which she will report to CEO Lapo Civiletti, will be made effective on Sept. 1.
She will soon take over the duties of former North American-based President and Chief Business Officer Todd Siwak, who confirmed his departure and return to private equity.
Before accepting the position with Ferrero, Cotton served as Coca Cola’s president of Operations for Central and Eastern Europe, where she led operations for 26 countries and over 150 brands; the release said. Before that, she worked as a senior vice president and general manager at Samsung Electronics America, and she was also an executive at PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble.
Cotton received an MBA from Stanford University and a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from Northwestern University.
The initiative correlates with other expansion efforts made by Ferrero, like its new innovation center made in collaboration with R&D Lab in the U.S.; a chocolate processing plant and Kinder Bueno line based in Bloomington, Ill.; and employment development at its Brantford, Ontario, plant.
The sweet-packaged foods company currently serves popular brands, such as Kinder, Butterfinger, Nutella, Tic Tac, Keebler, Famous Amos, Mother’s and several others.
"Ferrero North America, an important growth driver for the company, is the fastest growing confectionery company in the market, experiencing double digit growth and guiding multiple brand turnarounds over the years," a recent press release said.