Flowers Foods appoints Heeth Varnedoe as president, Terry Thomas as CGO

Flowers Foods announced two transitions to the senior leadership of the company and the election of two new members to the board of directors. The following changes are effective September 1, 2023: Heeth Varnedoe, COO at Flowers, will begin serving as president and COO of the company. Varnedoe has held a number of key management roles at Flowers, including chief transformation officer, senior vice president of DSD Regions/Sales, and president of the Phoenix bakery. Terry Thomas, currently a member of the board of directors of Flowers Foods, will resign as a member of the board and join the company as chief growth officer, reporting to Ryals McMullian, chairman, chief executive officer, and president. A new position at Flowers, the chief growth officer is responsible for leading and managing growth initiatives, product development and innovation, marketing, and customer partnerships. Thomas has extensive experience working globally in the consumer goods industry, most recently as global chief customer officer at Unilever.