Flowers Foods, Inc. announced two transitions to the senior leadership of the company and the election of two new members to the board of directors. The following changes are effective September 1: Heeth Varnedoe, chief operating officer at Flowers Foods, Inc., will begin serving as president and chief operating officer for the company. Terry S. Thomas will join Flowers Foods as chief growth officer, reporting to Ryals McMullian, chairman, chief executive officer, and president.
 
Effective October 1, Brigitte King, global chief digital officer at Colgate-Palmolive Company, and Joanne Smith, executive vice president and chief people officer at Delta Air Lines, will each begin serving as an independent director on the Flowers Foods board of directors.

"Congratulations to Heeth on his well-deserved promotion," McMullian said. "Over the last few years, Heeth has overseen a number of transformative initiatives at Flowers and has proven himself to be an extremely capable senior executive. Going forward, Heeth will be taking on a number of additional responsibilities and I am supremely confident that he will continue to make significant contributions to our success.

"I'm looking forward to working directly with Terry to uncover new revenue streams for the company, one of the key responsibilities of his role," McMullian continued. "Terry's global experience working at a senior level for some of the most respected CPG companies in the world will be invaluable to us as we continue to transform Flowers into a consumer and brand-centric company."

About Flowers Foods
 Headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, Flowers Foods, Inc. is one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States with 2022 sales of $4.8 billion. Flowers operates bakeries across the country that produce a wide range of bakery products. Among the company's top brands are Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread, Wonder, Canyon Bakehouse, and Tastykake.