Diamond Taps Driscoll as CEO

SAN FRANCISCO — Diamond Foods here has named food-industry veteran Brian J. Driscoll president and chief executive officer, effective Tuesday.

He succeeds Rick G. Wolford, who had served as interim CEO since last February following the ouster by the board of the previous CEO in the wake of an accounting scandal.

"We are delighted to welcome Brian to Diamond Foods and believe that his proven management skills and his experience over a 30-year career with leading food and consumer businesses such as Kraft, Nabisco, Nestlé and Procter & Gamble, and most recently at Hostess Brands, make him a perfect choice for Diamond," said Robert J. Zollars, Diamond's chairman.

Driscoll, who started his industry career in 1980 with P&G, had been CEO of Hostess since 2010. That company, the maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, filed bankruptcy in January and is seeking to renegotiate its labor contracts.

"I am very optimistic about the future of Diamond Foods and look forward to working closely with our employees, the grower community and our customers to take Diamond's businesses to another level," said Driscoll. "Together, we plan to build on the momentum of Diamond's impressive brands to grow sales, increase market share and drive shareholder value."

Diamond is the parent company of Kettle Chips, Emerald snack nuts, Pop Secret popcorn and Diamond of California nuts.