H.J. Heinz Company announced Karen L. Alber is joining the company as vice president and chief information officer.

Alber joins Heinz after 19 years of experience in Supply Chain Management, Systems Implementation, Operations, Process Improvement, and Change Management. She most recently was employed at PepsiCo, where she served as vice president, Change Readiness-Enterprise Systems. Prior to that post, Alber was vice president, Integration Management Office, during PepsiCo's merger with Quaker Oats. Before that merger, she served as vice president of Business Solutions at Quaker Oats.

In addition to her experience with Quaker and PepsiCo, Alber worked at SAP America as the industry segment manager for its Consumer Products Food & Beverage business. She is active within the consumer product goods industry, having recently served as the International Conference chair for APICS, the Educational Society for Resource Management, and is a member of the editorial board for Consumer Goods Technology magazine. Alber is a graduate of the University of Iowa and received her MBA from Loyola University in Chicago.