Chris Ritter

About Chris Ritter

I turn underperforming PE-backed manufacturing assets into high-performing growth engines scaling EBITDA and revenue while expanding margins.As a division-leading executive, I built and lead the global leader in ready-to-mix powders and better-for-you snacks and cereals measured by tonnage, retail units, revenue, and EBITDA.I am the full P&L owner with direct commercial and operational leadership responsibility across multiple manufacturing and distribution sites serving 100+ brands in food, nutrition, consumer health, and dietary supplements, with 8 consecutive years of record-setting results.Driver of 70-fold enterprise value growth across 4 PE ownership cycles and multiple successful exitsGROWTH & COMMERCIALI close billions in long-term private-label and branded contracts across food-drug-mass, specialty, club, and international channels. I bring the highest quality products to market, structuring deals where brands gain a strategic growth partner, we grow volume, and the consumer gets a better product. I accelerate founder-led brands and position for acquisition or integration.The proof:>5X customer growth, reduced concentration risk, EBITDA scaled with >500% sales and production growth while increasing wages ~40% over 8 years.OPERATIONS & CAPITALI scale facilities, integrate M&A acquisitions, and make performance repeatable. Two startups and four integrations. Multiple sites converted to 24/7. 30+ capital projects expanding capacity, automation, functional food verticals.FINANCIALSI make every site more profitable through continuous improvement systems that my teams execute to improve conversion costs, yield, and material costs. I develop and present the annual budget, long-range strategic plan, and divisional objectives.LEADERSHIP & GOVERNANCEI govern through committees across safety, quality, and technology/ERP. Advisory Board Member, CPG growth company and Future Nutra Foundation.Member of the Council for Responsible Nutrition shaping science-based policy and consumer trust. I champion expanding HSA/FSA eligibility for nutritional supplements, a policy I believe will reshape consumer access and drive long-term category growth.I dissolve ambiguity and define what winning looks like with real metrics. I hire on skills, not vibes. I cultivate skill builders and expertise collectors helping them develop autonomous ownership over their own work and leadership development. I set targets with real numbers and hold to them.I convert complexity into clarity and thrive where results speak louder than titles.

Experience

1. Senior Vice President, Consumer Packaged Goods Division

   Actus Nutrition

   Jul 2022 — Present · MN, US

   Full P&L, commercial, and operational leadership of a nine-figure division across multiple manufacturing and distribution facilities, 500+ employees, and 100+ brands in food, nutrition, protein, consumer health, and dietary supplements.I built this division from the ground up to become the global leader in ready-to-mix powders, snacks, cereals, and functional foods by tonnage, retail units, revenue, and EBITDA. I rebranded it from Contract Manufacturing to Consumer Packaged Goods to reflect its strategic evolution. The functional foods plant integration expanded the CPG platform into new production verticals.Executive sponsor for global CPG clients across food-drug-mass, specialty, club, and international channelsArchitected the commercial strategy that diversified the contract portfolio, reduced single-client concentration from >80% to 220% over four years at a ~24% CAGR while expanding the footprint, investing in the workforce, and building for what comes next.

Education

• Rowan University

  Business Administration, Management and Operations