Maxwell Foods has promoted its COO, Jess Gill, to the CEO's post as part of a leadership shift.

Gill joined the group as chief operating officer one year ago, leading operations, sales and marketing. Prior to this, she spent nearly four years as the chief customer officer of Craveable Brands. Her career also includes a number of senior customer and marketing roles, including director of CX and GM marketing supermarkets at Woolworths, GM of marketing for Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia, head of wholesale marketing for Telstra, and head of advertising at Macquarie Group. In addition, Gill was a partner and head of marketing strategy for Growth Mantra and worked as a consultant for the business for nearly three years.

"If someone had told me 3 years ago that in 2024 I would be leading a global food business, I would have thought them mad. But here I am, somewhat daunted, but mostly thrilled," Gill said in a LinkedIn post. "Maxwell Foods has continually evolved, transitioning from commodity traders to retail food commodity packers and healthy snack manufacturers. Now, I am honoured to take on the responsibility of guiding our next phase of growth. Our mission extends beyond profit - we aim to make a positive impact on the planet and every community we engage with.

"As we revolutionise the fruit and nut supply chain sustainably, we're committed to delivering exceptional, healthy snacks to the world. And we can't do that without doubling down on customer and consumer experience. I'm super excited about the commitment to doing just that."

As well as confirming Gill's promotion, Maxwell Foods has now appointed Paul Walsh as its new COO. Walsh has been the group's international trading manager for the last 25 years.

In a statement, the board led by chairman, Chris Spratt, said it was thrilled with both of its new leadership appointment.

"We are delighted to announce Jess Gill as our new CEO. With her proven track record in innovation, strategy and customer experience, Jess is poised to lead us to new heights of success," the company stated. "Additionally, Paul Walsh will step into the COO role where he will continue his excellent work overseeing operations, ensuring our efficiency remains exemplary."

Maxwell Foods also saluted its former CEO, Buddy Kassoum, who it said had been an important part of the team for the past 16 years, and gave him "a fond farewell". Kassoum announced his intentions to leave last week after over four years a CEO and 12 years as group GM before that.

"We are committed to making a positive impact on the planet, the communities we engage with, and the customers we serve. We eagerly anticipate the transformative influence Jess and Paul will bring to this commitment," the company said. Maxwell Foods is a 41-year-old distribution business focused on dried fruit, nut and healthy snack products, based out of Sydney. It operates processing, production and packing centres in Turkiye, Thailand and Australia and also sells in Europe, the US and UK.