Post Holdings elevates cereal, pet food exec to COO role

Dive Brief:

• Food manufacturer Post Holdings said Nicolas Catoggio will become its chief operating officer after Jeff Zadoks steps down from the role in January.
• Catoggio joined Post in 2021 as CEO of its Post Consumer Brands division, which includes cereal, pet food, peanut butter and pasta offerings. Post Consumer Brands was responsible for half of the CPG company’s $7.9 billion in net sales in 2024.
• Zadoks is leaving after nearly 14 years at Post. During his tenure, the company has expanded beyond cereal, spun off its nutrition products unit, BellRing Brands, and entered the pet food market.

Dive Insight:

Catoggio joined Post after a 14-year stint as a consultant, drawn to the food conglomerate by the opportunity to run his own division. When he started, Post Consumer Brands’ portfolio consisted of iconic cereals, such as Honey Bunches of Oats and Peter Pan peanut butter.

Since then, Post Consumer Brands expanded its product lineup through acquisitions, adding pasta offering Ronzoni and pet food brands, such as 9Lives and Kibbles ’n Bits, further increasing Catoggio’s responsibilities at the company’s largest segment. As the head of Post Consumer Brands, he oversaw the integration of the acquired companies, manufacturing facilities, products and brands.

“Nico is a strategic leader who has led Post Consumer Brands’ growth from a ready-to-eat cereal company to a multi-category organization,” Post Holdings CEO Rob Vitale said in a statement.

Catoggio now will take on even more responsibility as COO, potentially setting him up to replace Vitale who has run the St. Louis-based Post since 2014. In addition to Post Consumer Brands, Post also owns U.K. cereal brand Weetabix, Bob Evans refrigerated sides and has a large presence in foodservice.

Post said Catoggio will continue to oversee Post Consumer Brands until a new CEO for that division is named.

The consumer packaged goods company last week said net sales for the third quarter were $1.98 billion, an increase from $1.95 billion in the prior year. Post recorded a profit of $108.8 million, compared with $99.8 million. Cereal volumes for the third quarter dropped 5.8%, while pet food slumped 13%. Sales in the food service sector rose 19%.