Our leadership team has over 150 years of collective experience in the food industry and is dedicated to continuous innovation and technical expertise to provide our customers with the highest level of confidence.
Frank Jimenez,
Chief Executive Officer
Frank Jimenez serves as our Chief Executive Officer. He has extensive experience in the food industry, most notably with 34 years at Nestlé. Frank’s broad category expertise and global leadership experience with multiple Nestlé operating companies make him a great fit to lead Universal Pure. While at Nestlé, Frank was Division President of the US Baking Division, Global President of the Nestlé Walmart business, CEO of Nestlé Health Science-Pamlab, and Global Business Head of Nestlé Performance Nutrition.
John (JT) Tomaszewski
Chief Operations Officer
John Tomaszewski (JT) serves as our Chief Operating Officer, leading operations at all locations. His primary objective is to provide best in class operational performance while also providing exceptional customer service. He has over 30 years of experience holding executive roles in both operations and business development. JT is a certified six-sigma black belt and has expertise in operational excellence, supply chain optimization, organizational design and marketing strategy development across multiple industries including food & beverage, bio-pharmaceutical, retail, automotive, high-tech, capital markets, consumer products, durable goods, testing laboratories (genetic, food and environmental) and alternative energy. JT earned his B.S. from the University of Illinois, and a MBA from Northwestern Kellogg.
Pat Ballard,
Chief Commercial Officer
Pat serves as our Chief Commercial Officer, leading our business development and marketing efforts. He has extensive experience in the food industry, protein segments and working in cold storage. He spent the past 10 years leading commercial efforts at Americold. Prior to that he held various positions with Sysco, Starbucks and C&S Wholesale Grocers.
Jeff Barnard,
Customer President
Jeff serves as Customer President at Universal Pure and is the company’s longest tenured employee. With 35 years of experience in the food industry, mainly in the protein segment, Jeff is very passionate about food safety and the role Universal Pure plays in the market. Jeff’s experience has spanned sales and leadership positions at Cook Family Foods, ConAgra Brands, and Omaha Steaks.
