Don Mason was promoted to president and CEO of the company. He is taking over responsibilities formerly held by Charlie Bradbury. Before his promotion, Mason was vice president, sales and marketing.
“Don has an incredible track record of building national brands. As the co-founder and CEO of Empire Meats of Houston, Inc., Don has what it takes to help lead Nolan Ryan Beef to the next level,” said Ronnie Wallace, chairman of the board. “The board and I greatly appreciate Charlie’s contribution to this company. He’s helped create a strong foundation upon which we can build,” he added.
Ken Henk was promoted to executive vice president overseeing all operations. Henk brings 40 years of industry experience to the position. Before joining Nolan Ryan Beef, Henk was meat merchandiser for Kroger Southwest Division and Fry's Foods, a division of the Kroger Co.
Other promotions include Paul Strode to CFO; Chris Meighen to director of sales and Nichole Francis to director of marketing and communications.
Wallace said the staff changes will help the company maintain focus on managing growth in operations, sales and marketing. Nolan Ryan Beef has doubled its annual sales in back-to-back years.
“The growth of our brand has been nothing short of amazing,” Wallace said. “To keep that trajectory, we will continue to expand our retail and food service distribution beyond Texas, and to do that, we need to make sure we have the right people in place to help develop Nolan Ryan Beef into a dynamic national brand.”
