Dean Foods Co. said it appointed Eric Beringause president and CEO and a member of the board of directors, effective July 29, 2019. Beringause succeeds Ralph Scozzafava, who stepped down as CEO and resigned from his position on the board.

Beringause brings to Dallas-based Dean Foods more than 30 years of transformational leadership and operational experience at a broad range of blue-chip brands in the food, beverage and consumer products industries, including expertise in food processing and branded and contract manufacturing. Most recently, he served as CEO of Gehl Foods LLC, a producer of dairy-based beverages and food products, Dean Foods said. Prior to that, he served as CEO of Advanced Refreshment LLC, one of the largest U.S. producers of private label bottled water and water-based beverages, and as CEO of Sturm Foods Inc., a producer of private label food products, specialty food brands and contract manufactured products.

Earlier in his career, Beringause held various business development, finance and sales and marketing roles at Alcoa Consumer Products, Gerber Infant & Baby Products, ConAgra, Inc./Grist Mill, Nestle Inc., Nabisco Brands and The Pillsbury Co., Dean Foods said.

“We believe Eric is the right leader to drive the transformation of the business as the company continues to execute on its enterprise-wide cost productivity plan and its previously announced exploration of strategic alternatives,” said Jim Turner, non-executive chairman of the Dean Foods board. “He has a long track record of creating value in dairy and consumer products companies, as well as a unique combination of turnaround and operational expertise.”

Beringause said he is honored to join the company.

“Dean Foods is the nation’s largest dairy processor and a leader in the industry, and I am excited to work with the board and management team to leverage our scale and substantial assets to realize the significant opportunities available to transform our company,” he said. “My top priority will be to ensure we have the right footprint and strategies in place to drive sustainable growth and profitability for the benefit of our shareholders, employees, customers and other stakeholders.”