Hostess picks Kraft executive as next CEO

Hostess picks Kraft executive as next CEO

Hostess picks Kraft executive as next CEO

Irving-based Hostess Brands Inc., maker of Wonder bread and Twinkies, has named Brian J. Driscoll as its new chief executive officer.

He replaces Craig D. Jung, 57, chief executive since 2007, who is retiring after shepherding the company out of a five-year bankruptcy case in 2009. Driscoll, 51, joins Hostess from Kraft Foods Inc., where he was president of sales, customer service and logistics.

Owned by private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings, Hostess moved to Irving last year after its predecessor company, Kansas City-based Interstate Bakeries Corp., emerged from bankruptcy.

Hostess is now “moving into a new phase of growth … which we believe parallels perfectly with the broad food experience that Brian brings to Hostess,” Chairman John T. Cahill said in a statement Thursday.

Driscoll has 30 years of food and drink experience, including stints as at Nabisco, Nestlé USA, and Procter & Gamble.

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