SECAUCUS, N.J. — Freshpet, Inc. announced Dec. 20 its senior financial staff succession plan for the foreseeable future, in which current CFO Dick Kassar will become vice chairman of the company, effective Sept. 30, 2020. Kassar will be succeeded by Heather Pomerantz, who has been appointed to the newly created role of executive vice president of finance on Jan. 13, 2020.

Pomerantz is currently vice president of finance, North America for The Nature’s Bounty Company. For Freshpet, Pomerantz will lead several strategic projects and work closely alongside Kassar through the end of the third quarter of 2020 transitioning into the role of CFO, effective October 1, 2020. Kassar will provide guidance to Pomerantz, Freshpet’s board and executive team throughout this transition.

“We are very grateful to Dick for all he has done and continues to do during his tenure to make Freshpet a success. He has been an integral part of the Freshpet team since its inception helping to lead us through rapid growth, particularly as the company successfully transitioned from a privately-held to publicly-traded company,” said CEO Billy Cyr.

Prior to Pomerantz’s role at The Nature’s Bounty Company, she worked in finance and operations positions at Unilever, in which she oversaw key finance and operations responsibilities such as sales, marketing, supply chain and information technology. She also worked at PriceWaterhouseCoopers as an ERP implementations consultant.

“We are excited to welcome Heather to Freshpet. We believe she has the skills and experiences necessary as we take Freshpet to the next level of growth in 2020 and beyond. Heather has the analytical and strategic acumen we will need as we embark on our capacity expansion plan and continue to build the organization and systems capabilities to support Freshpet’s growth,” Cyr commented.

Pomerantz graduated with honors from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned her bachelor’s in economics with concentrations in finance and marketing. She also holds an MBA from Columbia University.

Read more about personnel changes throughout the industry.