Freshpet appoints activist investor’s director nominee to board

Pet food company Freshpet has announced it has reached an agreement with Jana Partners to appoint Timothy McLevish to its board.

McLevish was one of Jana Partners’, an activist investor in the company, nominations to the board of directors.

He has been appointed to the audit committee of the board and has been in the role of chief finance officer at five public companies, including Walgreens Boots Alliance and Kraft Foods Group.

The agreement brings to an end the proxy fight with Jana after it disclosed a nearly 10% stake in Freshpet in September and urged the company to consider selling itself.

As a result of the agreement, Freshpet stated that Jana had agreed to withdraw its other director nominations it had previously submitted to the company.

Alongside McLevish, Freshpet has also appointed Joseph Scalzo to its board of directors.

Scalzo, who began his career at Procter and Gamble, will sit on the operations oversight committee of the board.

Billy Cyr, CEO of Freshpet, said: “We are pleased to reach a constructive agreement with Jana. The Freshpet business has tremendous momentum and this agreement will help position us to continue delivering the results our shareholders expect.

“We also welcome Tim and Joe to our team and are confident they will be valued colleagues and members of our board as we work to continue capitalising on the significant opportunities ahead and creating value for shareholders.”

Scott Ostfeld, managing partner at Jana, added: “We commend Freshpet for the significant improvements in the business, team and board made over the past year. Joe Scalzo and Tim McLevish are proven executives with exceptional track records of driving shareholder value, and we are confident that the company is well positioned to realise its full potential for shareholders. We look forward to supporting Freshpet’s board and management as it executes on its compelling growth strategy.”