Kevin Penwell has joined Wellness Pet Company as Chief Customer Officer, taking responsibility for North American sales activities and customer-facing functions starting in January.
Wellness Pet Company, with 100 years of premium pet food and treats heritage, has announced the appointment of Kevin Penwell as Chief Customer Officer, effective January. In this newly appointed role, Penwell will lead the company’s North America sales function across all categories and channels, managing partnerships with retail customers, and overseeing growth across both existing and emerging channels.
Penwell has more than two decades of senior commercial leadership experience across leading consumer packaged goods companies, with a proven track record of driving growth, leading large-scale transformations, and building high-performance teams. Most recently, Penwell served as Senior Vice President, North American Sales and Go-to-Market at McCain Foods, where he oversaw all North American selling units and channels, including Foodservice, Quick Service Restaurants, and Retail, as well as the Go-to-Market function.
As the latest member of the executive leadership team, Penwell will oversee sales and customer strategy, sales execution, sales planning and operations, category management, and customer penetration.
“Kevin is a proven customer-centric leader with deep expertise in sales strategy, revenue management, and category leadership,” said Reed Howlett, CEO of Wellness Pet. “His experience leading complex organizations and creating positive partnerships with customers makes him exceptionally well-suited to help Wellness Pet accelerate its next phase of growth.”
Prior to McCain Foods, Penwell held several senior leadership roles at Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. serving as the Senior Vice President of Sales and Sales Strategy. He has also served as Director of Category Development at Energizer Personal Care, held various sales and marketing leadership roles at The Gillette Company, and worked in global business development at Procter & Gamble.
“I’m excited to join Wellness Pet Company and contribute to a mission that aligns so closely with my passion for health, wellness, and purpose-driven growth,” said Kevin Penwell. “The pet food category represents a tremendous opportunity to create value for pet parents and pet retailers, and I look forward to partnering with the team to build the next chapter of growth.”
Penwell earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Boston College and lives in Duxbury, Massachusetts, with his wife, four children, and their Cavapoo, Riggs.
