Americold Realty Trust Inc. is announcing a series of leadership updates. As part of these changes, the company and Marc J. Smernoff, executive vice president and chief financial officer, have mutually agreed that Smernoff’s employment with the company will terminate, effective Jan. 12, 2024. Jay Wells has been appointed to succeed Smernoff as executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective Jan. 15, 2024.

“I would like to thank Marc for his considerable contributions to Americold’s evolution over the last nearly 20 years,” said George Chappelle, chief executive officer of Americold Realty Trust. “Marc played a key role in guiding us through our initial public offering, building a best-in-class finance organization and strengthening our financial structure to fuel our growth. On behalf of the Board and leadership team, I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

Wells is a veteran public-company financial executive with more than 30 years of experience building and leading international teams, and considerable financial planning and transaction expertise. He joins Americold from Primo Water, a publicly traded water company focused on the U.S. and Canada, where he served as chief financial officer from 2012 to 2023. Prior to his time at Primo Water, he was the chief financial officer of the Canada Division of Molson Coors Beverages. Earlier in his career, he spent 15 years as a partner at Deloitte, where he oversaw the development and implementation of complex tax strategies on behalf of his client base and developed significant expertise in cross-border financing.

“We are pleased to welcome Jay to the Americold team,” said Chappelle. “Jay is a results-oriented executive with a track record of driving profitable growth. I am confident that his keen strategic mindset and experience in prudent capital management make him the right fit for Americold as we continue to pursue our disciplined growth strategy. I look forward to working with Jay to build on our momentum and deliver enhanced value for our shareholders.”

“Americold has built a leading global portfolio with a best-in-class operating platform, and I am honored to join their business as CFO,” said Jay Wells. “I look forward to working with the team to continue to strengthen Americold’s financial foundation and position the business for future success.”

Leadership team realignment

Americold also announced that it would realign its executive leadership team to establish further ownership of financial performance across geographies:

• Rob Chambers, Americold’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer, will assume the role of president, Americas, effective immediately.
• Richard Winnall, executive vice president and chief operating officer, international, will assume the role of president, international, effective immediately.

Both Chambers and Winnall will continue to report directly to Chappelle.

Chappelle said, “These changes to our leadership structure reflect our continued international expansion and will allow our team to more effectively implement strategic initiatives and take control of business performance across our markets.”

Source: Americold