Executive Officers
Wendy P. Davidson has been our President and Chief Executive Officer and a director since January 2023. Prior to joining the Company, she served as President-Americas for the Performance Nutrition segment of Glanbia plc, an Ireland-based global nutrition company, from November 2020 to November 2022. Prior to joining Glanbia, Ms. Davidson served as President, Away From Home (formerly U.S. Specialty Channels), of Kellogg Company, a global manufacturer and marketer of snacks and convenience foods, from 2013 to October 2020. From 2010 to 2013, she served in various senior roles at McCormick & Company, Inc., including as Vice President, Custom Flavor Solutions, U.S. & Latin America, and from 1993 to 2009 she held a variety of executive positions at Tyson Foods, Inc., including Senior Vice President and General Manager – Global McDonald’s Business Unit and Group Vice President – Foodservice Group, culminating in her service as Senior Vice President and General Manager – Prepared Foods. Ms. Davidson serves on the boards of several industry associations and non-profit organizations, including the Consumer Brands Association and NextUp.
Ms. Davidson is a graduate of Luther College with a B.A. degree in Political Science and Sociology and completed Harvard Business School’s two-year executive program.
Lee Boyce joined The Hain Celestial Group in September 2023 and serves as Chief Financial Officer. Boyce brings to Hain more than 30 years of international experience in finance leadership and transformation across the food and hospitality industries.
Before joining Hain Celestial, he was CFO of Hearthside Food Solutions, the food industry’s largest contract manufacturer and privately held bakery. Prior to that, he held leadership roles at Werner Co. and American Hotel Register Company, and spent more than 20 years at Mondelez and Kraft Heinz.
Boyce is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Management Accountant, and a Chartered Global Management Accountant. He holds an MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors from The University of Kent at Canterbury.
Wolfgang Goldenitsch joined The Hain Celestial Group in July 2015, and has been the head of the Company’s International business since January 2019, currently with the title of President, International. Goldenitsch is a global executive with decades of experience across Europe within the consumer packaged goods industry. He currently oversees Hain’s international brands, including several that lead in their respective categories.
Goldenitsch previously served as CEO of the Mona Group, a manufacturer of plant-based foods and beverages with facilities in Germany and Austria, which was acquired by Hain Celestial in July 2015.
Goldenitsch earned a doctorate in Food Science and Nutrition from the University of Austria.
Kristy M. Meringolo joined The Hain Celestial Group in April 2017, and serves as Chief Legal and Corporate Affairs Officer. She oversees all legal and corporate affairs, including corporate compliance initiatives, and is the executive sponsor for the company’s corporate ESG program.
Meringolo has a successful track record of providing strategic legal advice to global consumer brands, and holding responsibility for oversight, representation, and counsel in connection with litigation and government investigations.
Prior to joining Hain Celestial, Meringolo was Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Avon, a multinational cosmetics, skin care, fragrance and personal care company.
Meringolo is a graduate of Fordham University School of Law and earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan.
Steve Golliher has served as Chief Supply Chain Officer for The Hain Celestial Group since May 2022.
In his role, Mr. Golliher oversees the company’s Supply Chain function, which includes cost-implementing cost-saving solutions, addressing supply chain challenges, and introducing lean operating principles to the supply chain infrastructure across Hain globally.
Prior to becoming Chief Supply Chain Officer, Mr. Golliher served as Senior Vice President, Supply Chain from August 2021 to May 2022. Prior to joining Hain, Mr. Golliher worked at PepsiCo, Inc. for 35 years, most recently as Vice President of Supply Chain at Frito-Lay. There he led and championed transformational programs and business plans, leading multiple manufacturing facilities, plant warehouses, and distribution centers across multiple states and regions.
Steve earned his Master of Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University and his undergraduate degree from Indiana State University.
Chad Marquardt joined The Hain Celestial Group in March 2024 and serves as President, North America. He is responsible for leading strategy and execution in the U.S. and Canada.
Marquardt came to Hain from Glanbia Performance Nutrition (GPN) where he was Chief Customer Officer – Americas. Prior to GPN, Chad spent four years at Reckitt Benckiser, a prominent health, hygiene and nutrition company. Before Reckitt, Marquardt spent seven years at Mead Johnson Nutrition. He began his career at Unilever.
Marquardt holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Management with a concentration in International Finance from Bradley University.
Senior Management
Ken Thomas joined The Hain Celestial Group in June 2020 as the Chief Information Officer. Since joining, he has added responsibility for Shared Services and Corporate Program Management Office, being named Chief Information Officer and Head of Business Services in February 2023.
Prior to joining Hain, Thomas was the Chief Information Officer at McCormick & Co., overseeing global IT. There he led several roll-outs of SAP and integration of acquisitions both domestically and throughout Europe, Asia, and Australia. Prior to his 15+ years in IT, Thomas held a variety of roles of increasing responsibility within Supply Chain, Finance, and Sales & Marketing.
Thomas received his MBA from Loyola University Maryland where he is an Advisory Board Member for Information Systems and Operations Management. He also earned a Leadership Certification from The Wharton School in 2015.
Arlene Karan joined The Hain Celestial Group in August 2022 as the Senior Vice President R&D for North America and was named Chief Regulatory, R&D and Quality Officer in October 2023. Karan is responsible for overseeing innovation across the full product lifecycle, from initial design and feasibility to manufacturing quality and regulatory compliance.
Prior to joining Hain, Karan served as Senior Vice President of R&D and Quality on the Executive Leadership Team at Weston Foods, a North American bakery company. There she led a multidiscipline team to build R&D and Innovation capability, strengthen customer relationships and rebuild Quality programs across the manufacturing network. Previously, she held leadership roles at Campbells, where she grew her career in both R&D and Operations.
Karan received her Masters degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto, Canada.
Jen Davis joined The Hain Celestial Group in April 2023 and serves as Chief Communications Officer. Davis brings to Hain more than 20 years of communications and public relations experience in the food and CPG industry.
Before joining Hain Celestial, she was Head of Communications, Public Relations and Consumer Affairs at Glanbia Performance nutrition. Prior to that, she spent 10 years at Kellogg Company in global corporate communications, marketing communications, and sustainability. Earlier in her career, she worked for two Chicago-based marketing and public relations firms.
Jennifer holds an MBA from Roosevelt University’s Heller College of Business and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 2022, she completed Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, Business Risk and Reputation Management Executive Program.
Amber Jefferson joined The Hain Celestial Group in January 2024 and serves as the Chief People Officer. Jefferson is a seasoned executive who brings vast strategic and operational human resources expertise to Hain, having spent more than 20 years in the consumer goods, retail, foodservice, and travel industries.
Before joining Hain Celestial, Jefferson was Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) for Farmer Brothers Coffee (NASDAQ: FARM), a leading national coffee roaster, wholesaler and distributor of branded and private label coffee, tea, and culinary products. Prior to that role, Jefferson spent nine years at Kellogg Company in various business unit human resources leadership roles, most recently serving as head of HR for the company’s North America Sales and Digital Commerce business. Earlier in her career, she worked for Sabre Corporation and Brinker International.
Jefferson holds an MBA and Master of Science degree from Texas Woman’s University, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University.