John Ranelli new President of Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet Company, a leading innovator, marketer and producer of quality branded products for the lawn and garden and pet supplies markets, announced that John R. Ranelli has been named President and Chief Executive Officer, effective at the company's annual shareholder meeting to be held on February 11, 2013.

Ranelli has been a member of the Board of Directors of Central Garden & Pet and a member of the Board's audit committee since 2010. He will remain on Central's Board. Bill Brown, Central's Chairman and CEO, will continue as Chairman. It is expected that during the next six months, Gus Halas will continue in his present role and help transition Mr Ranelli into the CEO position. Mr Halas will then focus exclusively on transformational change and business development initiatives.

Said Bill Brown: "Over the last two years, John has become a leader on our Board and a trusted partner. His close to forty years of experience in building consumer products companies will be invaluable as we position Central for the next phase of growth and continue our transition to an integrated branded consumer products company."

Mr Ranelli has extensive experience in leading mid- to large-size consumer products companies, driving shareholder value through transformation initiatives and revenue and profitability growth. He commented: "We have a great opportunity to build our brands by continuing to invest in marketing and new product innovation. I am confident that as we strengthen our customer relationships, develop stronger ties with the consumer and continue to improve our execution, we will deliver the sustainable, profitable growth that we expect of our company and create meaningful value for our shareholders. I look forward to working with the Central team to achieve these goals."