FLOWERS FOODS ANNOUNCES DEPARTURE OF CHIEF GROWTH OFFICER TERRY THOMAS
Rhea-AI Summary
Flowers Foods (NYSE: FLO) announced on March 30, 2026 that Terry Thomas will step down and the company's chief growth officer role, created in 2023, will be dissolved.
Responsibilities will transition to senior leaders; Mark Courtney will report directly to CEO Ryals McMullian and assume brand, retail sales, innovation, and revenue management oversight. The move aligns with recent operations reorganizations to pair brand-led marketing and sales with optimized execution.
Positive
- Chief growth officer role dissolved, March 30, 2026
- Mark Courtney to report directly to CEO Ryals McMullian
- Courtney assuming brand, retail sales, innovation, and revenue management
- Company reports 2025 sales of $5.3 billion
Negative
- Transition period as Thomas shifts responsibilities to senior leaders
- Dedicated chief growth officer role created in 2023 will be eliminated
News Market Reaction – FLO
In the Mar 30 session, FLO declined 0.36%, reflecting a mild negative market reaction. Our momentum scanner triggered 7 alerts that day, indicating moderate trading interest and price volatility.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
"Terry has brought tremendous energy, leadership, and experience to our organization," said Ryals McMullian, chairman and chief executive officer. "Under his leadership, the role of chief growth officer has fulfilled its purpose, advancing growth for our leading brand portfolio through an expanded innovation pipeline, strengthened customer relationships, and new category and revenue management insights and capabilities. We appreciate Terry's contributions and wish him continued success."
With the role's dissolution, Mark Courtney, chief brand officer, will now report directly to McMullian. Courtney, a 43-year company veteran, has served in his role since 2020, with responsibility for managing Flowers' portfolio, including the Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread, Canyon Bakehouse, Wonder Bread, Tastykake, and Mrs. Freshley's brands. In addition to brand strategy, he will assume responsibility for retail customer sales, innovation, and revenue management.
"Mark is a deeply experienced, long‑tenured, and highly respected member of our leadership team," McMullian said. "I have full confidence in his ability to lead our brand and growth efforts as we continue to strengthen Flowers' position in the marketplace."
This new structure complements the recently announced changes within Flowers' operations organization under Heeth Varnedoe, president and chief operating officer, including the appointment of David Roach as chief DSD operations officer and the establishment of a division structure responsible for geographic P&L execution. Together, these moves position Flowers for future growth by pairing a brand led marketing and sales organization with an operational team optimized for execution in market.
About Flowers Foods
Headquartered in Thomasville, Ga., Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO) is one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States with 2025 sales of
FLO-CORP FLO-IR
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release and certain other written or oral statements made from time to time by Flowers Foods, Inc. (the "company", "Flowers Foods", "Flowers", "us", "we", or "our") and its representatives that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements relate to current expectations regarding our business and our future financial condition and results of operations and are often identified by the use of words and phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would," "is likely to," "is expected to" or "will continue," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions we believe are reasonable. Forward-looking statements are based on current information and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those projected. Certain factors that may cause actual results, performance, liquidity, and achievements to differ materially from those projected are discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 3, 2026 (the "Form 10-K") and may include, but are not limited to, (a) unexpected changes in any of the following: (1) general economic and business conditions; (2) the competitive setting in which we operate, including advertising or promotional strategies by us or our competitors, as well as changes in consumer demand; (3) interest rates and other terms available to us on our borrowings; (4) supply chain conditions and any related impact on energy and raw materials costs and availability and hedging counter-party risks; (5) relationships with or increased costs related to our employees and third-party service providers; (6) laws and regulations (including environmental and health-related issues and the impacts of tariffs, including retaliatory tariffs); and (7) accounting standards or tax rates in the markets in which we operate, (b) the loss or financial instability of any significant customer(s), including as a result of product recalls or safety concerns related to our products, (c) changes in consumer behavior, trends and preferences, including health and whole grain trends and consumer buying habits, the movement toward less expensive store branded products, and the continued reduction of purchases in the fresh packaged bread category, (d) the level of success we achieve in developing and introducing new products and entering new markets, (e) our ability to implement new technology and customer requirements as required, (f) our ability to operate existing, and any new, manufacturing lines according to schedule, (g) our ability to implement and achieve our corporate responsibility goals in accordance with regulatory requirements and the expectations of our stakeholders, suppliers, and customers; (h) our ability to execute our business strategies which may involve, among other things, (1) the ability to realize the intended benefits of completed, planned or contemplated acquisitions, dispositions or joint ventures, such as the acquisition of Simple Mills, (2) the deployment of new systems (e.g., our enterprise resource planning ("ERP") system), distribution channels and technology, and (3) an enhanced organizational structure (e.g., our sales and supply chain reorganization), (i) consolidation within the baking industry and related industries, (j) changes in pricing, customer and consumer reaction to pricing actions (including decreased volumes), and the pricing environment among competitors within the industry, (k) our ability to adjust pricing to offset, or partially offset, inflationary pressure or tariffs (including retaliatory tariffs) on the cost of our products, including ingredient and packaging costs; (l) disruptions in our direct-store-delivery distribution model, including litigation or an adverse ruling by a court or regulatory or governmental body that could affect the independent contractor classifications of the independent distributor partners ("IDPs"), and changes to our direct-store-delivery distribution model in
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SOURCE Flowers Foods, Inc.