Pinnacle Foods names CEO

Pinnacle Foods names CEO

Pinnacle Foods names CEO

Pinnacle Foods Group Inc. said today it appointed Jeffrey P. Ansell, a 25-year veteran of Procter & Gamble Co., as chief executive officer.

He replaced C. Dean Metropoulos, who said previously he would step down as chief executive but remain chairman of the company, which has corporate offices in Cherry Hill and Mountain Lakes, N.J.

Ansell most recently was president of The Iams Co., a P&G pet-food unit. His experience includes management and marketing positions in P&G's food and baby-care divisions. Pinnacle's product lines include Vlasic pickles, Swanson frozen dinners, Duncan Hines baking mixes, Armour canned meats, Open Pit barbeque sauce and Lender's bagels.

Pinnacle was formed in 2001 to buy a portion of bankrupt Vlasic Foods International Inc. Vlasic was created in 1998 as a spinoff of Campbell Soup Co. of Camden.