Century Snacks has announced that it has hired Valerie Oswalt as chief executive officer. Oswalt joins Century Snacks from Mondelēz International and has over 20 years of consumer package food experience. 

"On behalf of the entire team at Century Snacks, I'm thrilled to welcome Valerie to our organization," said David Lowe, chairman of the Board of Century Snacks and CEO of Insignia Capital Group. "Valerie is a dynamic leader with a unique background that spans marketing, sales, operations and finance. She has a long-standing track record of building brands, leading high-performing diverse teams and establishing strong customer relationships to deliver both top and bottom line results. We look forward to our next stage of growth under her leadership."

Oswalt's most recent position at Mondelēz International was president of North America Confections. In that role, she led a $1.5 billion portfolio of brands that included Trident, Sour Patch Kids, Swedish Fish, Oreo Chocolate Candy and Halls. Previously, she held successively more senior positions across marketing, sales, finance and supply chain functions. Over the course of her 21-year career at Mondelēz, Oswalt consistently exceeded financial plans and profitability goals. 

"I am thrilled to join the Century Snacks team at such an exciting time in its growth trajectory," said Oswalt. "The opportunity in the nut and trail mix market is tremendous, and Century Snacks is poised to capitalize on it. I am excited to work with the talented Century Snacks team leveraging our new, state-of-the-art U.S. based manufacturing facility, building our Snak Club brand by leveraging our partnership with Tajin – the fastest growing chili lime seasoning in the U.S., expanding our private label retail relationships and leveraging our new packaging and innovation to accelerate growth."

Oswalt has a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Accounting from Queens College in New York and an MBA in Marketing, Strategy and Finance from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She also serves on the board of the Network of Executive Women where she is committed to supporting gender parity and transforming our industry's workplace within Consumer Goods.