Furlani Foods (“Furlani” or “the Company”), one of North America’s largest manufacturers of frozen and ambient garlic bread products, today announced the appointment of Arist Mastorides as Chief Executive Officer. Mastorides succeeds Jonathan Kawaja, who is stepping down as CEO and will continue to support Furlani as a member of the Company’s Board of Directors and as an advisor.
Mastorides most recently served as Executive Vice President, Chief Customer and Transformation Officer at Hostess Brands, where he was a member of the executive leadership team that transformed and grew the business prior to its sale to The J.M. Smucker Co. He brings more than three decades of consumer packaged goods leadership experience to Furlani.
Before joining Hostess Brands, Mastorides spent 30 years at Kimberly-Clark, where he most recently served as President of the North American Family Care division and General Manager of North American Infant Care. During his career at Kimberly-Clark, Mastorides held 17 roles of increasing responsibility.
With state-of-the-art facilities in Oak Creek, Wisconsin; Mississauga, Ontario, Canada; and North Liberty, Iowa, Furlani produces a broad range of homemade-quality specialty breads, including garlic Texas toast, cheese bread, breadsticks, and garlic knots. Its products are sold to consumers under the Furlani® and Cole’s® brands, as well as through leading grocery retailers’ private-label programs.
Furlani is owned by Arbor Investments, a specialized private equity firm focused exclusively on acquiring and investing in businesses in food, beverage, and related industries. Arbor announced its acquisition of Furlani in February.
“Furlani has a strong foundation, exceptional people, and tremendous opportunity ahead,” said Mastorides. “I am honored to join the Company at this important point in its history. I look forward to working with the Furlani team, Jonathan, Arbor Investments, and our customers to build on the Company’s momentum and deliver its next chapter of growth.”
“Arist is an accomplished executive with a passion for building teams and executing strategic growth plans,” said John Jordan, President of Arbor Investments. “His deep understanding of consumer-packaged goods, the North American markets, baking, and multi-site manufacturing makes him the right leader for Furlani at this stage of its growth. We want to thank Jonathan for his leadership as CEO and for the many contributions he has made to Furlani over the past decade and are pleased we can continue the relationship.”
Jonathan Kawaja to Continue as Board Member
Jonathan Kawaja, who has led Furlani as CEO for more than a decade and been with the company for nearly 20 years, will remain active with the business as a member of the Board of Directors and advisor to the Company.
“Since my father, Paul Kawaja, founded Furlani in 1984, our family and this team have built a company with exceptional people, trusted brands, and a strong foundation for continued growth,” said Kawaja. “I am proud of what we have accomplished together and have great confidence in Arist’s ability to lead Furlani through its next chapter. Beyond his professional accomplishments, Arist is a great cultural fit for Furlani, and I look forward to supporting him, our team, and Arbor as a member of the Board.”
