SAN FRANCISCO – 4505 Meats, a maker of premium pork rinds and high protein/low carb snacks, announced Erik Havlick as chief executive officer and Greg O’Neal as chief marketing officer of the brand. The two were serving as board advisors for the company.

Prior to joining 4505, Havlick and O’Neal served on the executive team at Thanasi Foods, a manufacturer and distributor of snack foods. Havlick and his brother originally co-founded Duke’s Freshly Crafted Smoked Meats and BIGS Sunflower Seeds. O’Neal joined the team as a partner and head of marketing. Conagra acquired Duke’s and BIGS in 2017.

Ryan Farr, a chef, butcher and author, founded 4505 Meats out of his apartment kitchen in San Francisco. With Havlick as the new CEO, Farr will assume the role of chairman of the board and “Chef in Chief” and will continue to develop barbecue-inspired foods across the 4505 family of brands in addition to growing his successful restaurant business and working on his third book.

“I have always made it a priority to surround myself with leaders that are inspired by our craft and highly motivated to evolve personally and professionally. After twelve years of running a successful snack business, I feel it’s time to pass the torch,” Farr said. “The explosive growth of our 4505 Meats snack food business has been really amazing and humbling. Now is definitely the right time to bring leaders like Erik and Greg into the 4505 Meats family.

“The knowledge, expertise and wisdom they bring in building and growing challenger snack brands in authentic, meaningful ways is exactly the kind of skill set we need to double down on our growth,” Farr said. “Plus, they have unique, hard-to-find expertise in the convenience channel that is well-timed for our brand as we look to become truly omnichannel. We can’t wait for this exciting next chapter with Erik and Greg at the wheel.”