Ralph Scozzafava is an American

business executive A business executive is a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. Executives run companies or government agencies. They create plans to help their organizations g ...

who is best known for his position as Chief Executive Officer at

Dean Foods Dean Foods was an American food and beverage company and the largest dairy company in the United States. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company maintained plants and distributors in the United States. Dean Foods had 66 manufacturing faciliti ...

, the largest fluid milk company in the United States, from January 1, 2017 to July 29, 2019. He previously served as the company's Chief Operating Officer and joined Dean Foods in 2014 as the company's Chief Commercial Officer.

Early life and career

Scozzafava was born on November 4, 1958 in Danbury, CT and graduated from

Immaculate High School Immaculate High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Danbury, Connecticut, United States. Overseen by the Diocese of Bridgeport, IHS serves residents of 23 towns in the greater Danbury area. Immaculate High School, established i ...

. He attended the University of Pacific in Stockton, CA where he majored in business and played college basketball. He went on to receive an MBA from the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, RI and completed the KMI graduate program at the

Kellogg School of Management The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University (also known as Kellogg) is the business school of Northwestern University, a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1908, Kellogg is one of the oldest and most p ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

in Evanston, IL. Scozzafava took his first job with Warner Lambert in 1982 and spent the next decade in business management with companies including

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...

and

Clorox The Clorox Company (formerly Clorox Chemical Company) is an American global manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products. As of 2020 the Oakland, California based company had approximately 8,800 employees worldwide. Net sales ...

. From 1996 to 2000 Scozzafava served in various executive positions at the

Campbell Soup Company Campbell Soup Company, trade name, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has gro ...

. In 2000 he joined the confectionery company Wrigley in their US business unit. He was vice president, U.S. Sales and Customer Marketing from 2001 to 2002, Vice President and General Manager for U.S. from 2002 to 2003, Vice President and Managing Director for North America/Pacific from 2004 to 2006, and Head of Worldwide Commercial Operations from March 1, 2006 to February 1, 2007, when he left the company. During his tenure he managed a $5 billion business with over 10,000 employees. In 2007 he joined Furniture Brands International as Vice Chairman of the board and became Chief Executive Officer of the company on January 1, 2008. On May 1, 2008 he also became chairman of the board. Scozzafava took the position as CEO after a six-month apprenticeship in the furniture industry under prior Furniture Brands International CEO Mickey Holliman, during which time he held the title of CEO-designate. His first two years with the company resulted in a financial turn-around for the firm. In 2010 he signed a three-year contract extension through June 30, 2013. He was a director of Stage Stores from 2012 to 2017. and the American Home Furnishings Alliance, Inc. He is married to Liz and has two children.

Philanthropy

Ralph Scozzafava served as a director for the St. Louis

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

. His past positions have included chairman of the board for Keep America Beautiful Inc., and as a director of the Boston-based Center on Media and Child Health, and the Chicago-based Heartland Alliance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scozzafava, Ralph American business executives American people of Italian descent People of Calabrian descent Year of birth missing (living people) Living people