Burns – who was a partner at private equity firm TPG Capital, which made a major investment in Chobani in 2014 - led e-cigarette maker Juul between 2017-2019 and spent the next couple of years at pharmacy services provider Alto Pharmacy.
He will report to Chobani founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya, who tweeted about the appointment yesterday afternoon (as the Wall Street Journal broke the news, citing an internal memo from Ulukaya to staff noting that Burns “understands the business, our people, and our industry”).
“I am so happy to welcome back our friend Kevin Burns back to Chobani to lead [our] amazing team. We are a little older and wiser, but more excited than ever … stay tuned, more to come.”
Chobani - which is still best known for its Greek yogurt - has expanded its portfolio in recent years, launching a flurry of new products from ready to drink coffee to probiotic yogurts, shakes, fermented beverages, the protein- and fiber-packed Chobani Complete range, oatmilks and dairy creamers.
In a recent interview with FoodNavigator-USA, former president Peter McGuinness - who is joining foodtech firm Impossible Foods as CEO on April 4 - stressed that Chobani’s core yogurt portfolio is still growing, buoyed in part by a resurgence of growth in the yogurt category, which was amplified by COVID-19 (as more food consumption shifted to the home) but was evident well before the pandemic hit.
“We’re innovating from a position of strength. The base business is strong. It’s not like we’re innovating out of a core decline to chase growth.”
