Blue Diamond almond company names incoming CEO. New leader was president of dairy business
Blue Diamond Growers reached into the dairy industry for its new leader, the cooperative announced Monday.
Kai Bockmann will be president and chief executive officer beginning Jan. 17, succeeding the retiring Mark Jansen at the world’s leading almond processor. Blue Diamond employs about 1,800 people at its Sacramento headquarters and plants in Salida and Turlock.
Bockmann has spent the last decade at Saputo Inc., a global dairy processor whose plants include cheese-making in Newman. He most recently was president and chief operating officer.
Before that, Bockmann was president of the international division at McCain, the world’s largest producer of frozen potatoes, based in Toronto.
Jansen has led Blue Diamond for 12 years, including during the construction of the Turlock plant and an expansion of operations in Salida. The grower-owned cooperative sells bulk almonds to many food companies around the world. Its retail brands include Blue Diamond snack nuts and Almond Breeze milk.
“I’m excited by this phenomenal opportunity to join one of the most consistent and fastest-growing food and beverage companies in the world,” Bockmann said in a news release.
Blue Diamond was founded in 1910 and long has been a key player in a California industry that accounts for about 80% of the world’s almonds.
Jansen will help with the transition to Bockmann, said board Chairman Dan Cummings, a grower in the Chico area.
“Kai has more than a quarter of a century of global experience growing CPG (consumer packaged goods) companies, and we believe he is the leader we need to keep building our business and brand domestically and internationally, while continuing to deliver superior returns to our grower-owners,” Cummings said.
This story was originally published December 13, 2022 at 11:19 AM.
