Ruiz Foods promotes company veteran Kimberli Carroll to president and CEO

The executive first joined the Mexican food and snack maker more than two decades ago.

Ruiz Food Products, Inc., a large frozen Mexican food manufacturer in the US, has announced a series of executive leadership and board changes designed to position the company for its next great growth period.

The Ruiz Foods board of directors selected the company’s current chief operating officer, Kimberli Carroll, as president and CEO; she will also serve on the board of directors. Current CEO Dan Antonelli will transition to the new position of executive board chair. Kim Ruiz Beck, a Ruiz Foods owner and current board chair, remains on the board as an owner-director. These changes will become effective January 21.

“As the Ruiz Foods board of directors considered the direction for our next CEO, the best candidate was right here on our leadership team,” says Ruiz Beck. “Kim Carroll quite literally grew up inside the Ruiz Foods organization over two decades. She began her career in marketing, was a member of the team that developed and deployed the most successful new product in the company’s history, and has served as a leader implementing dynamic, transformative change throughout our entire supply, production and distribution chains.”

Ruiz Beck continues, “In addition, Kim possesses both the leadership skills essential to continue to move the company forward and the deep relationships and commitment to our people and culture that are the foundation of what we do each day. This combination makes her uniquely qualified to lead Ruiz Foods as we boldly work to become the nation’s best frozen food company in the eyes of our team members, suppliers, customers, and consumers.”

Most recently, Carroll was promoted to chief operating officer in September 2023. She previously served as executive vice president, general manager, and chief commercial officer for the company’s foodservice and retail businesses.

“I am humbled and honored to lead one of the finest family-owned companies in America,” Carroll says. “Dan Antonelli has been instrumental in leading the transformation we started in 2021 to become a top performing company and Kim Ruiz Beck has been our North Star, leading us by embodying the values of the business. Now, it’s our job to continue their legacy by ensuring our brands are the market leaders in every channel we pursue.”

Jenni Spinner is the chief editor of Snack Food and Wholesale with more than 25 years of experience in business-to-business communications. She has written extensively about food production, safety and packaging; pharmaceutical drug development; concrete and masonry construction; and more. She holds a Bachelor’s in Communications from the University of Illinois. Jenni can be reached at spinnerj@bnpmedia.com.

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