Michael Carle,
Chief Executive Officer
Michael is Chief Executive Officer for Sweet Harvest Foods and leads Sweet Harvest Foods, Nature Nate’s Honey Co. and Nate’s Hives. He joined Sweet Harvest Foods as Chief Financial Officer in 2022 and brings with him a 20+ year track record of success in various leadership and financial roles. Previously, Michael was Chief Financial Officer of National Pecan, a pecan processing and farming company, and served in multiple operational finance and corporate development roles at Dean Foods for 13 years. During his time at Dean Foods, he led the restructuring of the accounting and finance teams, helped IPO WhiteWave Foods and led the field finance team. Michael began his career in the audit practice of KPMG. He holds a BBA and MS in Accounting from Texas Tech University and an MBA from Duke University. He is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Texas.
Jeff Jacobs,
Chief Financial Officer
Jeff is Chief Financial Officer for Sweet Harvest Foods and leads finances for Sweet Harvest Foods, Nature Nate’s Honey Co. and Nate’s Hives. He joined Sweet Harvest Foods in 2019 as Director of Finance and was promoted to Senior Vice President of Finance. Jeff brings nearly 20 years of industry experience, leading teams focused on FP&A, pricing and Treasury operations. While at Sweet Harvest Foods, he has formalized the pricing process and margin management initiatives, which have been crucial through recent market volatility. Previously, Jeff was a Finance Manager at Treehouse Foods in the Snacks Division and held progressive finance roles at Tennant Company, a global leader in commercial and industrial floor cleaning machines. He started his career as a financial analyst at IBM. Jeff received a B.A. in Business Management with a minor in Economics at St. John’s University.
Chris Nubern,
Chief Procurement Officer
Chris Nubern is Chief Procurement Officer for Sweet Harvest Foods and joined the company in 2015. He is responsible for all procurement and policy related activities at Sweet Harvest Foods and has 30 years of experience in the agricultural commodity sector with roles associated to extension research, food policy economics, price risk management and supply chain. Previously, Chris was Vice President of Procurement for Flagstone Foods, a Private Equity-owned company in the snacking food segment. He also served as a member of Kraft’s price risk management and procurement team and was a key member of the Planters business unit where he was tasked with global strategic sourcing. Early in his career, Chris was Director, Economic Research, for National Milk Producers Federation, the oldest dairy lobbying group in Washington, D.C. He received a Ph.D. in the field of Agricultural Economics, is a published author in economic journals and has routinely been a keynote speaker at trade conventions for various agricultural commodities.
Prashanth Prabhakar,
Chief Operations Officer
Prashanth is Chief Operations Officer for Sweet Harvest Foods and joined the company in 2020. He has 20 years of food manufacturing and medical device/supplies experience. Previously, Prashanth served as Senior Manager, Operations, at Johnson and Johnson in the field of microwave ablation devices. Prior to Johnson and Johnson, Prashanth held several operations and quality assurance roles, including Senior Director, Corporate Quality, at ConAgra Brands, Plant Quality Assurance Manager at Medtronic, and Director, Quality Assurance-Operations and Contract Manufacturing, at Cardiac Science. Prashanth received a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Marquette University.
Cristy Scott,
Chief People
Officer
Cristy is Chief People Officer for Sweet Harvest Foods and joined the company in 2022, when Nature Nate’s Honey Co. was acquired. She is responsible for the human resources functions, maintaining a positive workplace culture and leading employee engagement efforts. Cristy joined Nate’s in 2015 and has more than 25 years of human resources and management experience. Prior to working at Nate’s, she served as Senior Director of Organizational Development among other key roles for CROSSMARK, a CPG sales and marketing services company. Cristy was Vice President, Organizational Excellence, for a national non-profit and began her career in staff augmentation and outsourcing then moved to online learning management and human resources operations. She received a B.S. in Human Environmental Sciences from Oklahoma State University.
Becca May,
SVP Marketing & Innovation
Becca May is Senior Vice President, Marketing & Innovation, for Sweet Harvest Foods and joined the company in 2022, when Nature Nate’s Honey Co. was acquired. She joined Nate’s in 2016 and served in prior roles as Vice President, Marketing, and Director, Brand Management. Becca leads brand marketing, shopper marketing and marketing communications for Nate’s, Sweet Harvest Foods and Nate’s Hives. Previously, she led customer communications at Zix, an innovative data security company, where she worked closely with teams across Google and Cisco. She began her career at Golin, a global, progressive marketing agency that supports a variety of consumer packaged goods and business-to-business brands, including Tyson, McDonald’s, PetSmart and Texas Instruments. Becca earned degrees in Communications and Sociology from Austin College, is one of Dallas Business Journals’ 40-Under-40 Young Leaders and has won several national industry accolades for social media, communications and corporate social responsibility.
John Rzeszut,
SVP Sales & Marketing, Sweet Harvest Foods
John is Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Sweet Harvest Foods. He has more than 20 years of sales and marketing leadership experience in the food industry. John leads efforts to expand the company’s bulk, foodservice and private label portfolio of natural sweeteners. Previously, he spearheaded branded and private label growth initiatives as Director of Marketing at Dawn Food Products, a leading producer of sweet bakery products. He served as Brand Manager in the Convenient Meals division of Kraft Foods, developing marketing strategies and launching new products. John received a Bachelor of Science and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame.
Drew Rzezutko,
SVP Sales, Nate's Honey
Drew is Senior Vice President, Sales, for Nature Nate’s Honey Co, which was acquired by Sweet Harvest Foods in 2022. He joined Nate’s in 2016 and is responsible for expanding distribution of Nate’s portfolio and leading customer relations with multi outlet and grocery retailers. Previously, Drew worked in various roles at CROSSMARK, working with brands such as Chobani, Reckitt Benckiser and Filippo Berio, among others. Drew earned a B.S. from Miami (OH) University and a M.B.A. from The University of Tennessee. He serves as the current President of the New England Food Foundation, a non-profit organization serving underprivileged kids throughout New England.
Brian Showerman,
SVP Procurement
Brian is Senior Vice President, Procurement, for Sweet Harvest Foods and joined the company 2014. He leads position management, where he oversees the sourcing of raw honey and packaging materials and brings with him extensive experience in agricultural commodities, food manufacturing and non-profit leadership. Previously, Brian worked for Kellogg Company, serving in several roles including Director of the Performance Excellence Taskforce and Director of Product Availability, managing snack production and deployment across the company’s network. He was also Director of Global Commodity Procurement, where he led procurement for all North American commodities and raw materials, developed risk management strategies and spearheaded global strategic sourcing initiatives through global cross-functional teams. Brian also spent a decade as Executive Director of First Wesleyan Church, overseeing finance, operations, administration and facility development. He began his career at Michigan Agricultural Commodities as a Commodity Trader and Originator. Brian received a B.S. in Food Systems Economics and Management from Michigan State University.
Matt Halbgewachs,
President & Head Beekeeper,
Nate's Hives
Matt is President and Head Beekeeper for Nate’s Hives, which was previously Sweet River Company, an apiary business that he founded in 2015 and was acquired in 2023. He leads more than 65 beekeepers in caring for more than 3 billion honey bees. Previously, Matt held various management and executive positions in the information security industry, consulting with and implementing security strategies at many Fortune 500 companies. He has also owned and operated assisted living facilities, a freight logistics business and a commercial trucking company. Matt played an integral role in the $1B spin out of Axalto from Schlumberger, as well as the merger of Axalto and Gemplus. After, he rejoined Schlumberger to spin out Dexa Systems and built 3 Microsoft Identity and Security partnerships at small services and consulting companies. Matt received a B.S. in Computer Science from Texas Tech University.
Global Expertise.
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