SEATTLE — Farmer-owned dairy cooperative Darigold, Inc. announced Feb. 12 changes to its senior leadership team, naming Chris Rowe interim chief financial officer and hiring Dana Kennedy as chief human resources officer.

Rowe currently serves as president of Darigold’s business-to-business division, a position he has held since joining the company in August 2023. Darigold said he oversees the cooperative’s portfolio of ingredients that are sold globally to commercial customers.

Earlier in his career, Rowe carried out a number of roles at Fonterra, working in finance, strategy, global operations and as group finance director. A native of New Zealand, Rowe earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Auckland and a master’s degree from the University of Waikato.

Darigold shared that Rowe will continue to handle his B2B responsibilities while working as interim CFO.

"Chris has demonstrated himself to be a very capable leader since joining Darigold, earning the respect of our full senior team, board of directors, and across the B2B division he leads," Darigold president and chief executive officer Allan Huttema said. "His first-hand knowledge of our business and broad experience in the global dairy industry make him ideally suited to step into this role as we wrap up our fiscal year and set our sights on opening our new production facility in central Washington in the coming months."

The company noted it brought Kennedy back to Darigold, where she previously worked for eight-plus years, most recently as vice president of labor relations. Her career also includes a number of management and leadership roles in human resources. Kennedy earned an executive MBA from the University of Washington.

Huttema said the cooperative was thrilled to see Kennedy return.

"In her previous time with us, Dana earned the respect of our team, shepherding the company through a number of important contract negotiations, establishing trust and credibility across our leadership, HR and plant teams, and becoming a valuable partner across our organization,” the CEO said. “Her familiarity with our business and our operations uniquely qualifies her for this role at this time."