Bakery ingredients manufacturer and distributor Dawn Foods promoted Ahmet Hepdogan to SVP of supply chain and procurement for North America, according to an Oct. 24 press release.
Hepdogan has led the North American procurement team for Dawn Foods since joining the company in 2022.
In his new role, Hepdogan will retain his responsibilities for procurement while overseeing Dawn Foods’ distribution services and supply chain in North America, per the release. He will report to John Schmitz, chief operating officer for the Americas.
Dawn Foods did not immediately respond to a request to confirm if this is a newly created position. The company said in the release it promoted Hepdogan to create “a more integrated approach” to the management of its supply chain.
Before joining Dawn Foods as VP of procurement in risk management in 2022, Hepdogan spent nine years as chief procurement officer at candy maker Ferrera, according to the release.
The more-than-20-year industry veteran served as SVP of procurement and strategic sourcing for ARYZTA for the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region from 2008 to 2013, per his LinkedIn profile. He has also held supply chain roles for U.S. Foods and C.H. Robinson.
Dawn Foods, which supplies ingredients and equipment to bakeries and food manufacturers, currently has 16 distribution centers located across North America, according to its website.
The company recently restructured its operations team, promoting Schmitz to chief operating officer for the Americas in early October. A month earlier, the company promoted Melissa Bautista to SVP of operations and Jen Taggart to VP of North America manufacturing.
