Exec Transition in the Works at Tillamook County Creamery Association

Board selects new leader as President and CEO Patrick Criteser announces departure

4/3/2024

Tillamook's President and CEO Patrick Criteser (left) is succeeded by longtime EVP David Booth (right).

Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA) is undergoing a leadership change. The Tillamook, Ore.-based dairy company announced that President and CEO Patrick Criteser is exiting the company and will be succeeded by David Booth, current EVP of brand growth and commercialization. Booth will immediately step into the role of president and add CEO duties upon Criteser’s formal departure later this year.

Criteser is capping a 12-year tenure marked by steady brand expansion and business growth. Prior to leading TCCA, he served as president and CEO at Coffee Bean International in Portland and was co-CEO at Farmer Brothers in Torrance, Calif. During his career, he also worked at SmartForest Ventures, Nike, Disneyland resort and Procter & Gamble.

As he takes the reins from Criteser, Booth will leverage his own experience steering TCCA’s growth strategy. He joined the company in 2015, served as interim CFO twice and is credited with forming crucial partnership with retailers and building strong sales and marketing teams. Booths’s background also includes 18 years at ConAgra Foods.

TCCA Chair and farmer-owner Shannon Lourenzo thanked both leaders for their commitment and respective accomplishments. “We are so grateful for Patrick's incredible leadership these past 12 years. Today, we are a $1.3 billion business, and one in four American households buy Tillamook cheese, ice cream and other dairy products. But we're just getting started. David is a very talented leader and is someone who is well-equipped to continue the cooperative's growth, which will further strengthen our farmer-owners, create more jobs and advancement opportunities for our employees, and enable us to continue to positively impact the communities where we live and work,” he said.

Criteser returned the favor, praising the organization and people who encouraged the leadership team to innovate. "Our vision of becoming a premium, multi-category, national dairy brand has been realized, and the cooperative is optimally positioned to thrive well into the future," he remarked. "I have accomplished what I hoped to achieve for the farmer-owners of this amazing cooperative, so I've decided that the time is right for this transition. Serving in this role has been the greatest honor of my professional career, and I am absolutely certain that our board has chosen the right person to succeed me in David."

Added Booth: "This is an incredible opportunity to work with our farmer-owners who have built this company with a long-term outlook and a commitment to growing the right way. We have extremely talented and committed employees in every function and location. Our strong culture and organizational momentum are here to stay, and they will enable us to reach even greater heights in the future."

TCCA continues to expand its portfolio. In late March, the company launched a new line of whole milk mozzarella cheese, its third new product in as many months. Earlier this year, the dairy dropped a new brick cream cheese and a chocolate ice cream collection.