TreeHouse Foods hires former Smucker executive as CEO

Oakbrook, Ill.-based private brands manufacturer TreeHouse Foods appointed Steven Oakland as its CEO and president. Oakland succeeds Sam K. Reed, chairman, president and CEO of, who will serve as non-executive chairman of the board through July 1, when he will retire.

Oakland was most recently vice chair and president of U.S. food and beverage at The J.M. Smucker Co., where he led the $5 billion U.S. food and beverage businesses across all channels, including U.S. retail coffee, U.S. retail consumer foods, natural foods, U.S. retail sales, and marketing services. Oakland spent 35 years at Smucker.

"Steve brings to TreeHouse a wealth of experience moving quickly to assimilate and integrate complex businesses, designing highly effective organizations and improving the growth and profitability of acquired companies," said Dennis O'Brien, lead independent director of the board of directors of TreeHouse Foods. “His leadership principles and practices are the right fit for Treehouse and will serve him well as a catalyst to drive revenue growth, supply chain optimization and organizational effectiveness."

O'Brien said Oakland has been central to transforming Smucker from a fruit spreads company to a best-in-class Fortune 500 marketer and manufacturer spanning multiple consumer packaged goods categories.

"I am thrilled about the opportunity to lead this great team, given its unparalleled leadership in private label food and beverage," Oakland said. "No company is better positioned than TreeHouse to capitalize on the growing importance of private label in today's dynamic retail landscape, which is a credit to Sam Reed and his vision. The initiatives that Sam and the team have put in place are the right ones, and I look forward to hitting the ground running to improve our execution and performance in the near term, while assessing the long-term strategic drivers of the portfolio."