Minnesota-based Schwan’s Co. names new CEO

The Minnesota company that makes Red Baron pizza and Pagoda egg rolls has a new boss as it seeks to grow its footprint in grocery stores and dining halls across the country.

Schwan’s Co. announced this week Brian Schiegg has been named the company’s seventh CEO in its 72-year history.

He succeeds Dimitrios Smyrnios, who retired after more than a decade in the role.

“I am honored to be chosen as our new CEO. Schwan’s is an extremely strong company with an amazing heritage, and we have built an extraordinary team of very talented people,” Schiegg said in a news release.

Schiegg, a graduate of St. Olaf College, joined the company in 2021 as president of the consumer brands division. He previously held leadership roles at Ocean Spray Cranberries and Mars Inc.

Schwan’s has a corporate office in Bloomington and operations in Marshall, where the company was founded in 1952. The private company has 8,500 employees and sells more than $1 billion of Red Baron pizza annually. Other brands include Freschetta, Tony’s and Bibigo.

South Korea’s CJ Cheiljedang bought a majority stake in Schwan’s for $1.8 billion in 2019. The Schwan family retained the famed yellow-truck food delivery business, which rebranded as Yelloh.

“The North American market is critical to our growth strategy, and I personally look forward to working with Brian to achieve our vision of becoming the No. 1 provider of ethnic cuisine in the United States,” said Minsok Pak, CEO of parent company CJ Foods and Schwan’s board chair.

Last year Schwan’s bought a California-based kimchi maker, Cosmos Food Co.

“Brian has the full support and confidence of the company’s board of directors and CJ Foods’ leadership to maintain Schwan’s momentum and propel our company to even greater heights in the future,” Pak said.