PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Kenneth G. Romanzi has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer at B&G Foods, Inc. In this newly created role, Romanzi will serve on the company’s executive management team and report to Robert C. Cantwell, president and CEO.

Romanzi joins B&G Foods from WhiteWave Foods Corp., where he served as president, fresh foods from March 2016 to October 2017, responsible for the Earthbound Farm Organic business. Previously, he was senior vice president and COO, global brands at Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. from 2013 to 2015 and COO of Ocean Spray’s North American food and beverage business from 2004 to 2013. Prior to joining Ocean Spray, he served as president, U.S. toys division of Hasbro Inc., president and CEO of Naked Juice and president and CEO of Balducci’s Direct, a gourmet food catalog business. He also held leadership positions at Nabisco and Cadbury Schweppes. He began his career in marketing at Frito-Lay, Inc. in 1982.

Romanzi has a bachelor of science in finance and accounting from Babson College.

“After more than doubling the size of our business over the past two years, we believe now is an excellent time to supplement our already very strong executive management team with another highly talented executive,” said Cantwell. “Ken Romanzi is a proven leader with extensive experience in the food and beverage industry. We are very pleased to have Ken join our team. As chief operating officer, Ken will have a broad range of responsibilities as we continue to execute our growth strategy.”