Lavazza Premium Coffees Corp., in a continued strategic effort to strengthen and broaden the renowned Italian company’s presence in the U.S., recently announced that it has appointed two group directors to the company’s North American Headquarters.
Michele J. Abo joins Lavazza as director of sales North America, bringing a significant amount of sales executive and general management experience from her previous roles at Chevron, PepsiCo and Entenmann’s.
Ricky Khetarpaul joins as director of finance and administration after eight years of experience at PepsiCo, bringing expertise in roles of increasing responsibility in finance, financial planning, strategy, and business development.
“Today, more than ever, our North American presence becomes increasingly vital. We look forward to working with Michele and Ricky to bolster our organizational structure, and foster long-term growth across all channels and markets” said Ennio Ranaboldo, CEO of Lavazza North America, in a prepared statement.
The announcement comes on the heels of two recent introductions from Lavazza in the U.S. and Canada, including its first-ever ecommerce store launch in September, as well as the fall 2013 debut of a new specialty coffee line for the Retail Channel. In 2012, the brand launched the RIVO® Cappuccino & Latte Brewing System in the U.S., marketed by and in partnership with Keurig® and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters.
