Armanino Foods of Distinction, Inc. Appoints New CEO

PLEASANTON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Armanino Foods of Distinction, Inc. (OTCQX; AMNF) announced today the hiring of Deanna Jurgens as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective May 12, 2025. Ms. Jurgens will also join the Board of Directors.

Ms. Jurgens is a proven leader who has deep experience growing branded businesses, an established track record with large foodservice and retail customers and success scaling companies globally. These experiences position her to lead Armanino Foods into its next phase of growth and expansion.

Ms. Jurgens most recently served as Chief Sales Officer at Bonduelle Americas, where she led the $650 million fresh business. In the last two years, through a strategy of customer acquisition, innovation, expansion, and cost management, she successfully guided Bonduelle Americas branded business to its largest share gains in five years thereby driving greater profitability.

Prior to Bonduelle America, Jurgens was the President of North America and Global Chief Growth Officer for Beyond Meat, where she grew the international business by developing global partnerships with McDonalds and YUM Brands. She worked to expand Beyond Meat’s brand in the US through a PepsiCo joint venture in plant-based jerky, achieving a dominant market share in one year. Earlier in her career, Jurgens spent 16 years with PepsiCo where she partnered with some of the largest retailers in the US, including Walmart, Target and Sam’s Club. She also spent time leading the operations of Frito-Lay’s largest region which generated over $3B in annual revenue. Ms. Jurgens has received many industry honors, including being named to Fortune’s “Most Powerful Women – Next Gen”.

Douglas R. Nichols, Chairman of the Board, stated, "The Board is thrilled to welcome Deanna Jurgens as our new President and CEO. Ms. Jurgens' extensive food industry experience speaks for itself—her leadership roles at Bonduelle Americas and Beyond Meat have consistently delivered growth, innovation, and strong customer partnerships. Her strategic vision and proven ability to scale brands globally make her exceptionally well-suited to lead Armanino Foods into its next phase of growth and innovation. I also want to express my sincere appreciation to Director James Ford for his exceptional leadership throughout the CEO search process, and to Al Banisch and Tony Muscato for their diligent evaluation of the many outstanding candidates."

Mr. Nichols concluded, “We see this decision to hire Deanna as a new future building on a great passionate past.”

Ms. Jurgens stated, “I’m honored and excited to take on the role of CEO to lead Armanino into its next phase of prosperity. This company has an incredible foundation of growth, and I look forward to working with our talented team, suppliers and customers to further broaden our company, build on the Armanino tradition and extend our success well into the future.”

Armanino Foods of Distinction, Inc. is an international food company that manufactures and markets frozen Italian specialty food items to the foodservice, retail, and industrial markets. In addition to a classic Basil Pesto, Armanino offers other flavors and sauces including Cilantro, Dried Tomato & Garlic, Roasted Red Bell Pepper, Southwest Chipotle, Artichoke, Roasted Garlic, Light Basil Pesto, Chimichurri, Harissa, Bolognese, and Alfredo. Armanino’s organic line includes classic Basil Pesto. Finally, Armanino Foods also offers cheese shakers, frozen pastas, and meatballs.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Statements in this news release regarding our expectations and beliefs about our future financial performance and trends in our markets are “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigations Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements often include the words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “estimate,” “project,” or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” or “may.”

The forward-looking statements in this news release regarding our future financial performance are based on current information and because our business is subject to several risks and uncertainties, actual operating results in the future may differ significantly from the future financial performance expected at the current time. Those risks and uncertainties may include, among others: economic factors affecting consumer confidence and discretionary spending and reducing the consumption of food prepared away from home; the extent and duration of the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences on the Company; cost inflation/deflation and commodity volatility; competition; reliance on third party suppliers and interruption of product supply or increases in product costs; changes in the Company’s relationships with customers and group purchasing organizations; the Company’s ability to increase or maintain the highest margin portions of the Company’s business; achievement of expected benefits from cost savings initiatives; increases in fuel costs; changes in consumer eating habits; cost and pricing structures and other governmental regulation, including actions taken by national, state and local governments to contain and/or respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences; product recalls and product liability claims; and our reputation in the industry. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release and are based on information and estimates available to the Company at this time. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.

The best source of information on the company is the OTC Markets website (http://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/AMNF/company-info).