Farmer Bros. Co. has named Christopher Mottern as chairman of its board of directors. Mottern, who has served as a director on the Farmer Brothers board since 2013, succeeds Randy Clark, who will continue to serve as a director of the company.
Mottern was appointed to Farmer Brothers’ board in 2013 and recently served as interim CEO of Farmer Brothers from May 7-Oct. 31, 2019.
“I am honored to be appointed by my fellow directors to the role of chairman of the board, as we continue to execute on our turnaround strategy to position the company for the long term,” Mottern said. “I want to thank Randy for his tremendous leadership and contributions to the company during a period of significant transformation for Farmer Brothers. We are fortunate to have Randy remain on the board, which will continue to benefit from his skills and experience.”
Clark said it had been a privilege to serve as chairman for the past four years. “I look forward to continuing to work closely with Chris, along with the rest of the board and management team to enhance Farmer Brothers’ operational and financial performance.”
In addition, Hamideh Assadi has resigned from the board for personal reasons, effective immediately.
“On behalf of the board and management team, I want to express our appreciation for Hami’s many contributions to the company and years of distinguished service. We wish her the best in the future,” Mottern said.
Following these changes, the board comprises seven people, six of whom are independent. The board committee chairs are: Allison Boersma, audit committee; David Ritterbush, nominating and governance committee; and Chuck Marcy, compensation committee.
Founded in 1912, Farmer Bros. Co. is a national coffee roaster, wholesaler and distributor of coffee, tea and culinary products. The company’s product lines include organic, Direct Trade and sustainably-produced coffee. The company serves a wide variety of customers, from small independent restaurants and foodservice operators to large institutional buyers like restaurant and convenience store chains, hotels, casinos, healthcare facilities and gourmet coffee houses, as well as grocery chains with private brand coffee and consumer-facing branded coffee and tea products, and foodservice distributors.
Headquartered in Northlake, Texas, the company’s primary brands include Farmer Brothers, Artisan Collection by Farmer Brothers, Superior, Metropolitan, China Mist and Boyds.
