The century-old family business Vitamix, a benchmark in food blenders, has just appointed for the first time a non-family CEO!
Vitamix is a century-old American family business founded in 1921 by William Grover Barnard and headquartered in Olmsted, Ohio. While in the early days ‘Papa’ Barnard traveled the country selling modern kitchen accessories through demonstrations, he discovered a line of cocktail mixers in 1937 and quickly realized that this new product also made it easy to prepare healthy food. He began marketing them for health drinks and in 1949, at the suggestion of his son Bill, he took his demonstration live to a television set, creating the country’s first infomercial, which propelled the company and radically changed its future. The family business quickly focused on the production of food mixers for home and business use. With a wide range of increasingly innovative, high-performance, and versatile blending solutions, Vitamix has become a leading brand over the decades, employing more than 700 people and exporting its products to more than 140 countries. Its success is based, among other things, on the Barnard family’s unwavering passion for healthy whole foods and their relentless desire to improve the quality of life and nutrition of the population. Since 2011, the company has been led by fourth-generation Jodi Berg, and under her leadership, the company has experienced impressive organic growth. Dr. Berg, a specialist in employee engagement, has been able to quadruple sales and position the family business as a global leader in its industry. The fifth generation is too young to take over, so beginning in the fall of 2022, the Barnard family will pass the CEO position to a non-family member – Steve Laserson, currently chief commercial officer. Mr. Laserson hopes to build on his predecessor’s success by focusing on strategic planning and employee engagement and well-being.
Read the news: ‘Jodi Berg, Vitamix CEO, to pass torch to company’s first non-family member’
