The Hain Celestial Group Inc., Lake Success, NY, has appointed Pasquale “Pat” Conte as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Stephen J. Smith, who has served as Hain Celestial’s CFO, will remain with the company through Sept. 30, 2015, to ensure an orderly transition.

In October 2014, Conte was named senior vice president, finance and treasurer, having joined Hain Celestial in July 2009, after acting as a financial consultant to the company previously. In these roles, he oversaw the company's worldwide financial planning and analysis, and worked strategically on mergers, acquisitions and other initiatives.

Prior to joining Hain Celestial, Conte worked at Motorola Inc. in a series of financial roles of increasing responsibilities, most recently as CFO.

“Pat has been an integral part of our finance team for over five years, where he has been a key leader in working to drive our continued growth and success over the last several years," says Irwin D. Simon, founder, president and CEO of Hain Celestial. “Pat's deep understanding of consumer goods, his forward thinking and tenure at the company make him a natural candidate to help us to continue to growth both organically and through acquisitions on a global basis.”