July 5/Paramus, N.J./PRNewswire -- Smart Balance Inc. announced its board of directors has appointed Dean Hollis and Thomas McInerney as independent directors, expanding its members from eight to 10. 

"We are very excited to have these two highly qualified professionals join our board," said Stephen Hughes, Smart Balance chairman and chief executive officer. "Hollis and McInerney are proven executives with a depth and breadth of knowledge in growing consumer brands and their experience will be valuable to the company's future growth prospects," continued Hughes. 

Dean Hollis has more than 35 years of business experience across food, retail and consumer product companies. Currently, he is a senior advisor for Oaktree Capital Management, an $85 billion investment firm. In addition, he oversees several privately held investments and serves on several boards, including Advance Pierre Foods, Landec Corporation, Earth Analytics Group, and Adams Land and Cattle Company. 

Until 2008, Hollis was with ConAgra Foods, where for 21 years he held many executive-level positions, including president and chief operating officer, Consumer Foods and International. In that role, Hollis developed and executed a worldwide business transformation strategy while overseeing the largest part of the ConAgra Foods portfolio, including its $12 billion consumer and customer-branded businesses across all channels.   

Prior to joining ConAgra Foods, Hollis was with the TreeSweet Companies, holding management positions in both sales and marketing. He began his career in the consumer products division of Georgia-Pacific, where he spent four years advancing through a variety of sales management positions. He is a graduate of Stetson University, where he is on the board of directors and received the Distinguished Alumni award in 2005. 

Thomas McInerney has more than 25 years of business experience in the beverage industry, across management, sales, marketing and finance. Since 1996, McInerney has been a managing partner of Lindsey & Company, an executive search firm. Previously, he was vice president and general manager of the largest division of Tropicana Dole North America. 

McInerney was also the executive vice president of Marketing for the House of Seagram, the U.S. spirits affiliate of Joseph E. Seagram and Sons Inc. McInerney was employed by the Seagram Corporation for 20 years. He began his career with National Distillers and Chemical Corporation where he held a number of sales, market research and product management assignments. McInerney is a former board member of 6 Figure Jobs.com, the National Advertising Review Board, the Traffic Audit Bureau, and the Association of National Advertisers.

 

From the July 6, 2011, Prepared Foods' Daily News.