Exec Shuffling at Hormel
Hormel Foods announced several leadership promotions and changes as the company continues to build on its brand legacies and expand newer brands. The Austin, Minn.-based CPG was recently named one of the World’s Most Admired Companies by Fortune Magazine and was included on the list of the 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators by Fast Company.
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Recent appointments include the following:
33-year company veteran Scott Aakre is the new group VP and chief marketing officer of the Hormel Foods Retail business, which spans brands such as Planters, Skippy, Justin’s, Dinty Moore, Hormel chili, Corn Nuts, Herdez, Wholly and Spam, among others. He is tasked with evolving the portfolios to meet the needs of today’s consumers and expand Hormel’s ethnic and food-forward offerings. Most recently, Aakre was SVP at Hormel’s Brand Fuel Group, which includes the company’s innovation, consumer and shopper insights teams, as well as its Digital Experience Group, the e-commerce team that supports the company’s brands and businesses in the virtual marketplace. He earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Minnesota.
Another longtime pro at Hormel, Lisa Salk takes on the role of SVP of brand fuel vacated by Aakre. A 25-year employee, she will oversee that hub’s center of excellence, leveraging her experience in growing many of the company’s iconic brands. Prior to this position, she served as VP of retail marketing for convenient meals and proteins, where she led strategic marketing efforts for brands including Spam, Skippy, and Justin’s. She received a bachelor’s degree in food science, a master’s degree in cereal science and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of St. Thomas and completed the Kellogg Executive Development Program at Northwestern University. Selk also earned a certificate from the Harvard Business School Executive Agribusiness Seminar.
Natasha Walsh was tapped to fill Selk’s role of VP of marketing for convenient meals and proteins within the Hormel’s retail business and will lead strategic marketing efforts for several brands. Previously, she was VP of retail sales for national chains at Hormel Foods. She first came to Hormel in 1999 and has held positions of increasing responsibility in brand management, sales, trade and category management, customer account leadership and supply chain. She holds degrees in marketing and international business from Kansas State University.
Lynn Egner is responsible for retail sales strategy and execution in the western region of the United States as Hormel’s new VP of retail sales, west. She takes over the role from Walsh. She, too, has a long resume at Hormel, continually moving up after joining the business in 1997 in the foodservice sales division. In 2022, she was promoted to her most recent job as assistant VP of retail sales, west. Egner is a graduate of Kansas State University, where she received a bachelor’s degree in business.
