Hostess Brands, LLC (Nasdaq: TWNK) announced that Chad Lusk, a former senior executive with Chamberlain Group and Ferrara Candy Company, has joined the company as senior vice president and chief marketing officer. Responsible for overall profitable brand growth, Lusk will oversee consumer insights and analytics, brand strategy and innovation and serve on the executive leadership team, reporting to CEO Andy Callahan. In connection with the appointment, the company also announced it will open a new corporate office in Chicago to serve as its new hub for marketing and category management. Corporate headquarters will remain in Kansas City, MO.

“Chad is a dynamic and deeply experienced brand marketing executive whose leadership, insights, market expertise and creative approach will be invaluable as we move into this next stage of development for the Hostess brand,” said Callahan. “At the same time, relocating our category sales and marketing functions to Chicago creates the opportunity to tap into the region’s deep pool of food marketing talent and further strengthen our capabilities in these critical areas as we continue to grow.”

“I am thrilled for the opportunity to work with the Hostess leadership team, associates, agency partners and customers to continue to elevate an already iconic brand that enjoys a special emotional connection with consumers,” said Lusk. “As Hostess celebrates its 100th birthday and looks ahead to its next century, we see tremendous potential to further invest in and leverage consumer insights, robust innovation capabilities and targeted marketing to build on the momentum and drive our next exciting phase of growth.”

All employees currently in marketing and category management roles have been offered the opportunity to relocate to Chicago. The company intends to add additional positions in the new office over the next several months.

Immediately prior to joining Hostess, Lusk was the executive vice president and chief marketing officer at the Chamberlain Group, a global leader in access products and solutions, such as garage door openers, commercial door openers, gate entry systems, and cloud-based smart access control technology. Before that, he served as chief strategy officer and, later, senior vice president of marketing at Ferrara Candy Company, the $1 billion confectionary manufacturer. Previously, he was chief strategy officer and head of wholesale operations for Mid-Atlantic Convenience Stores. Earlier in his career he was a senior engagement manager at McKinsey & Co.  A graduate of the University of Virginia, he earned an MBA from the University of Chicago.