J.M. Smucker Co. is bringing on a seasoned supply chain executive to strengthen the operational backbone behind brands like Folgers, Dunkin', Café Bustelo, and Uncrustables — all fixtures in the c-store dispensed beverage and grab-and-go sets.
The Orrville, Ohio-based company announced July 20 that Douglas Guilherme will join as Senior Vice President, Operations and Supply Chain, effective July 29. He will report to Rob Ferguson, Chief Product Supply Officer and Executive Vice President of Coffee, Pet, and Away From Home.
The New Executive
Guilherme arrives with more than 30 years of global supply chain and operations experience spanning food, consumer goods, and chemicals. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President of Global Supply Chain at The Hershey Company, where he oversaw manufacturing, engineering, continuous improvement, planning, logistics, digital supply chain transformation, and network strategy. Before Hershey, he held leadership roles at Procter & Gamble and served as Global Senior Vice President of Supply Chain at Ecolab.
Ferguson called Guilherme a proven operator with a track record of delivering results and driving transformation while building high-performing teams. "I am confident he will be an outstanding steward of our commitments to quality, productivity and supporting our dedicated employees," Ferguson said.
Why C-Stores Should Pay Attention
For the convenience channel, Smucker's supply chain is a direct upstream variable. The company's coffee portfolio — packaged Folgers and Dunkin' ground and whole-bean SKUs — feeds the grocery-to-c-store replenishment pipeline, while Uncrustables has become one of the fastest-growing handheld foodservice items stocked in retailer back-of-house coolers. Any improvements in planning, logistics, or network strategy downstream from Guilherme's mandate could sharpen in-stock rates on high-velocity SKUs that convenience operators depend on.
The move also signals Smucker's continued investment in its away-from-home business unit, which encompasses office coffee service, foodservice distributors, and channel accounts that include c-store chains. Ferguson's title explicitly covers Away From Home, and Guilherme slots directly into that reporting structure.
Supply chain resilience has remained a top concern across the food and beverage industry since the disruptions of the early 2020s. Retailers and foodservice operators alike have pushed suppliers to demonstrate more sophisticated demand planning and logistics redundancy. Guilherme's background in digital supply chain transformation at Hershey positions him to advance similar capabilities at Smucker.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
