B&G Foods, Inc. (NYSE: BGS) has appointed Robert "Rob" D. Mills as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective August 10, 2026. Mills, a member of the B&G Foods Board of Directors since March 2018, succeeds Casey Keller, who retired as President, Chief Executive Officer and a director at the end of the prior week.
Mills joins the executive leadership from Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ: TSCO), where he had held senior roles of increasing responsibility since 2014, most recently as Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer, Digital and Pet Services. In that role he set the retailer's technology direction, led its digital operations and helped shape long term strategy, including mergers and acquisitions, while carrying direct profit and loss responsibility for its veterinary, pet pharmacy and Petsense businesses. Earlier in his career he held senior leadership positions at Ulta Beauty and Sears Holdings.
He brings more than 20 years of operating and leadership experience spanning corporate strategy, digital commerce, technology and business development, including evaluating, acquiring and integrating businesses. His appointment elevates a long serving director rather than an external hire, a choice the board framed as giving the incoming chief executive an immediate command of the company's brands, people and priorities.
Stephen C. Sherrill, Chair of the Board, said Mills is well positioned to lead the company at an important point in its evolution, citing his eight years on the board and a proven ability to lead transformation, operate at scale and translate strategy into execution. Mills said his immediate priorities would be execution, operating discipline and accelerating growth, and pointed to the role that digital, data, technology and artificial intelligence can play in improving productivity and decision making.
The leadership change comes as B&G Foods works to reshape its portfolio, improve margins and cash flow, and reduce debt and leverage after a stretch of pressure across the packaged foods sector. The company, based in Parsippany, New Jersey, manufactures and distributes shelf stable and frozen foods across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, with a portfolio of more than 50 brands that includes Cream of Wheat, Crisco, Ortega, Las Palmas and Maple Grove Farms.
For B&G Foods, the appointment signals continuity of strategy paired with a mandate to accelerate it. Installing a director who already understands the business shortens the learning curve at a moment when the company is working to strengthen performance and rebuild investor confidence. Mills will be measured on whether his operating and digital background can translate into margin improvement, disciplined capital allocation and renewed growth across the brand portfolio.
