Eric Beringause, a food and beverage veteran who was chief executive officer of Gehl Foods LLC, will replace Ralph Scozzafava as CEO, the company announced Friday. Beringause begins work Monday.
Beringause, who has 30 years of food, beverage and consumer products experience, was tapped to lead Dean’s “transformation” in an industry beset by falling milk consumption, razor thin margins and fierce competition. That intensified after key customer Walmart Inc. built its own milk-processing plant last year.
In a regulatory filing Monday, Dean Foods disclosed that Beringause will be paid an $800,000 salary, an annual bonus of up to $880,000 and a signing bonus of $870,000. He’ll also receive stock options worth $3 million.
Scozzafava’s severance was reported to be worth $10.8 million in the company’s proxy statement filed in March. His compensation package totaled $3.9 million last year.
Under Scozzafava, who also resigned from his position on the board, the company’s shares have slumped 87% in the past year, the worst performance among global packaged food companies tracked by Bloomberg, and slipped below a $1 for the first time.
While the company has been looking to sell assets, Canadian dairy giant Saputo Inc. said in June it was “absolutely not” interested, underscoring that there’s little appetite in the market.
In May, Dean reported a wider-than-expected loss for a third straight quarter but said cash burn was likely to be over as the company adjusted to lower demand. At the time, Scozzafava said the company has “been in conversations with folks” about strategic alternatives. But he also said “it’s possible we won’t do anything and execute the plan we have.”
Scozzafava had been CEO since September 2016. He previously had been the company’s chief operating officer.
Dean Foods board chairman Jim Turner said in a statement that Beringause will guide the company’s “enterprise-wide cost productivity plan and its previously announced exploration of strategic alternatives.