LOS ANGELES – Better-for-you Swedish ice cream and frozen novelties brand N!CK’S added three independent industry experts to its board of directors.
Henry Karamanoukian, retired Procter & Gamble global president of digital commerce; Rebecca Messina, former Uber chief marketing officer; and Rob Bellezza, chief operating officer at Curio Wellness, already are contributing to N!CK’S as its newest board members.
The company’s leadership shared the new members’ “elevated insight, talent and skills to support continued brand expansion” are expected to help drive the brand forward.
Per N!CK’S, Karamanoukiana will focus on assisting the brand’s global presence, sales strategy and distribution expansion.
Previously, Karamanoukiana worked at Procter & Gamble for more than three decades before retiring in 2021. He served on P&G’s global leadership council and took on leadership roles in markets throughout the world. The company’s global president of digital commerce prior to his retirement, Karamanoukiana also was president of go-to-market operations, China. Earlier in his career, he also led P&G’s Canadian operations and was chief sales officer for North America and Eastern Europe. Currently, he also acts as a senior advisor for Boston Consulting Group.
N!CK’S shared that Messina’s experience in global brand building and development will help the company build a world-leading brand.
Uber’s first global CMO, Messina also previously worked as global CMO for Beam Suntory and spent 22 years in marketing at The Coca-Cola Company, where she was CMO of the company’s internal incubator. She currently works as an advisor at McKinsey & Co. and serves as a board member for Vive Organics, Outdoor Voices and Zico.
Adding Bellezza to the board, N!CK’S shared, will allow him to advise manufacturing and operation decisions, while leaning on his experience in the ice cream industry.
The Curio Wellness COO previously worked for 24 years at Unilever, taking on key supply chain responsibilities. Bellezza was Ben & Jerry’s head of operations and manufacturing, as well as head of M&A integration for Unilever in North America.
"We are very excited to welcome Henry Karamanoukian, Rebecca Messina and Rob Bellezza to the board,” said Stefan Lagerqvist, N!CK’S chief executive officer, adding the three already have helped the brand with their leadership skills. "As independent industry experts, each unique in their way, the entire team at N!CK'S is proud to have attracted this exceptional talent to the board, and we will only grow from here."