Honey Stinger appointed John D’Alessandro as its new CEO, effective immediately.
The company said in a release that D’Alessandro joins Honey Stinger with over two decades of consumer packaged goods experience, having compiled a strong track record of driving growth, innovation and profitability. Honey Stinger said his “strategic vision, operational expertise,and passion for sports align perfectly with Honey Stinger’s mission to provide high-quality, great-tasting sports nutrition for athletes and active individuals.
Most recently, D’Alessandro was chief marketing officer (CMO) for Humm Kombucha. Before that, he was CMO for Nutraceutical Corporation, where Honey Stinger reported he was “credited with orchestrating the development of over 35 brands.”
D’Alessandro’s previous experience includes senior marketing roles at Edgewell Personal Care, the parent of Schick Razors, Hawaiian Tropic, and other brands. He was the VP pf global marketing for ten years and three years as VP for North America.
“John is a seasoned leader with a passion for fostering strong brands and accelerating their growth,” said Nick DiCarlo, managing partner at Factory, LLC, Honey Stinger’s lead investor. “We are excited to welcome John to the Honey Stinger family and are confident that his leadership will propel the company to new heights.”
“With much appreciation for its past, I am thrilled to join Honey Stinger at this time to lead it into the future, building upon the brand’s values-driven legacy in sports nutrition,” said D’Alessandro. “I am excited to get to work alongside the high-performing teams at Honey Stinger and Factory, LLC to take the brand to new audiences, expand our product offerings and work daily to further our mission to fuel the active ambitions of our customers.”
But the corner office at Honey Stinger has had quite a revolving door over the last several years. D’Alessandro is the third Honey Stinger CEO since 2021.
Richard Thompson preceded D’Alessandro when he joined Honey Stinger in early 2022 as an interim CEO. He said it didn’t take long before he took a more permanent interest and role in the honey-based, sports-nutrition performance snack company. “After I looked around and saw what was going on, I decided that Honey Stinger was the opportunity I was looking for,” said Thompson, who accepted the permanent role as CEO shortly after that. “In the last five months, I have put my touch on everything.”
Before Thompson, former CEO Mike Keown left the Steamboat Springs, CO-based company after more than two years at the helm, and he said he was pleased with his and his team’s efforts to grow the company while staying connected to the community where it was born, according to comments he made to a local newspaper.
“I’m really proud of what we’ve accomplished, what the team has accomplished and how we’ve built on the legacy Bill Gamber, Rich Hager and Len Zanni, and all of those folks who laid such a wonderful foundation,” Keown told the Steamboat Pilot & Today after announcing that he would be leaving the company at the end of 2021.
Keown was hired as CEO in 2019, bringing more than 30 years of experience to the role.
Images courtesy of Honey Stinger, John D’Alessandro/LinkedIn
