Hain Celestial President, CEO Wendy Davidson Departs, Interim Named
The Hain Celestial Group Inc. has announced that Wendy Davidson, president, CEO and member of the board of directors for the company, has departed the company effective May 7, 2025. The board will execute its leadership succession plan, and in the interim, it has appointed Alison E. Lewis to be interim president and CEO.
Lewis has been a member of Hain’s board since September 2024 and has more than 30 years of leadership experience with large consumer goods companies, the release noted.
In conjunction with the leadership transition, Hain’s board has decided the time is right for it to conduct a comprehensive review of the company’s portfolio, considering a broad range of strategic options to enhance value. The board did not set a timetable for the strategic review, nor does it plan to communicate on the review unless and until a specific course of action has been approved or updates are considered appropriate.
It wasn’t clear if the newly announced strategic review would amplify Hain’s efforts over the last year or so to right-size its portfolio and operations, or was simply an extension of the approach. A little more than a year ago, as part of the company’s Hain Reimagined business strategy, the company announced several significant moves, including elimination of SKUs, consolidation of operations and streamlining of its co-manufacturing network.
It had sold the Thinsters cookie business in April 2024, then sold ParmCrisps in September 2024. And Davidson said during the company’s second-quarter financial report in February 2025 that Hain was considering selling its personal care division. On the positive side of the news, the company did open its new Hoboken, N.J.-based innovation center in December 2024, so any deep dives into product quality should have fresh resources to rely upon during the review.
In the meantime, Lewis takes the reins on an interim basis after joining the board last fall. Previously, she had served as chief growth officer of Kimberly-Clark Corp. from 2019 to August 2024, leading growth in all four of the company’s categories.
Lewis’ prior roles include six years as chief marketing officer at Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies, and also senior vice president and chief marketing officer, North America, for The Coca-Cola Co. She began her career at Kraft General Foods.
