Denver-Based Tender Belly Names New CEO

Leading premium meat brand Tender Belly has appointed CPG industry veteran Dustin Finkel as the company’s CEO and Board Director. Finkel assumed the role after serving as the Founder and CEO of Awakened Foods, makers of snack brands Ka-Pop! Snacks, B.Fine Foods and Awakened Food Crafters. Previously, Finkel served leadership positions at Abbott Nutrition, General Mills and WhiteWave.

Finkel will be focused on continuing the significant growth of the company, through innovative marketing execution, new-to-the-market products and multi-channel expansion. In partnership with Founder and CRO, Shannon Duffy, the duo will change the face of the premium meat category.

“Joining as the CEO of Tender Belly is an incredible opportunity to partner with Shannon and our investors, Encore Consumer Capital. I took this role because Tender Belly hits it on all marks – an absolutely craveable product, an exceptional and talented team and significant growth potential. It is rare to find all of these characteristics in one company. Tender Belly’s team has driven tremendous growth, and I am looking forward to the momentum our team will continue to build across all channels and all products,” said Finkel.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Dustin Finkel to Tender Belly as our CEO and Board Director. His proven ability to drive results while being a thoughtful leader is unparalleled. We are impressed by his experience, knowledge and passion – we have no doubt he will help maximize the full potential of Tender Belly,” said Duffy.

“We are so excited to have Dustin Finkel join Tender Belly as CEO. Dustin is an experienced CPG executive with a track record of scaling brands,” said Robert Brown, Managing Director at Encore Consumer Capital and Board Director at Tender Belly.