Business
Ajinomoto Foods North America Names Dave Gardner President and CEO to Lead Next Phase of Growth and Innovation
Ajinomoto Foods North America, Inc. (AFNA), a specialty frozen food manufacturer designing products for well-being, recently announced the appointment of Dave Gardner as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2026. Gardner succeeds Hiroshi Kaho, who has been promoted to Executive Officer & Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer for Tokyo-based parent company Ajinomoto Co., Inc, after leading AFNA through a multi-year period of investment, capability building,
About this update from Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Veteran food industry executive — most recently AFNA's Chief Supply Chain Officer — to accelerate growth of the company's specialty frozen foods business ","length":161,"tagName":"p","attribs":{}},{"type":"text","content":"ONTARIO, Calif., May 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ajinomoto Foods North America, Inc. (AFNA), a specialty frozen food manufacturer designing products for well-being, recently announced the appointment of Dave Gardner as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2026. Gardner succeeds Hiroshi Kaho, who has been promoted to Executive Officer & Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer for Tokyo-based parent company Ajinomoto Co., Inc, after leading AFNA through a multi-year period of investment, capability building, and cultural transformation.","length":578,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"image","alt":"CEO of Ajinomoto Foods North America, Dave Gardner","displaySize":"","headline":null,"caption":"CEO of Ajinomoto Foods North America, Dave Gardner","className":"","disableSlideshowImg":false,"size":{"original":{"width":400,"height":223,"url":"https://media.zenfs.com/en/prnewswire.com/20c42b8cd46b528aed725b65d1b3a212"},"resized":{"url":"https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/0mnw6XFqNhUOIdR5Nxvk8Q--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTM5MztjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/prnewswire.com/20c42b8cd46b528aed725b65d1b3a212","width":400,"height":223},"resize_sm":{"url":"https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/jn4yxYP.LCpkCuCu.f0tLQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTY0MDtoPTM1NztjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/prnewswire.com/20c42b8cd46b528aed725b65d1b3a212","width":400,"height":223}},"href":"https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2978809/Gardner_Headshot.html","hrefExternal":true,"rel":"nofollow"},{"type":"text","content":"Gardner brings more than 35 years of food industry experience to the role. He served as AFNA's Chief Supply Chain Officer since 2022, leading manufacturing and end-to-end supply chain operations across the company's eight U.S. production facilities. He partnered closely with the CEO to translate long-term strategy into operational reality. Gardner focused on establishing a people-first culture and building fundamentals. He led a cross-functional cost transformation initiative delivering $35 million in first-year savings while improving customer service. He oversaw capacity expan...