May 11, 2022

Darigold

Naluai

Kangas

Darigold has hired Kristi Kangas as its chief operating officer, and promoted Duane Naluai to chief customer officer. The moves come as the 104-year-old dairy producer looks to accelerate some transformative initiatives aimed at modernizing and globalizing the co-op, including the construction of a new processing facility in Pasco, and the rebuilding of a fire-damaged facility in Caldwell, Idaho. Kangas served as president and chief operating officer at Readington Farms, a multi-product line producer of dairy products and other packaged goods for its parent company, Wakefern Food. Before joining Readington, she held senior leadership positions in manufacturing with one of the nation's largest dairy producers, and operational leadership positions with a global food production company. Naluai joined Darigold in 2017 as senior vice president for sales and marketing, and head of the co-op's consumer products division. He was promoted to president of the consumer products division in 2020. In his role as chief customer officer, Naluai oversees the co-op's business planning, customer experience, partner development, and domestic and global sales functions. Prior to joining Darigold, Naluai held senior leadership positions in the consumer-packaged goods space, and in professional services, including marketing and investment banking. Headquartered in Seattle, Darigold is the marketing and processing subsidiary of Northwest Dairy Association, which is owned by nearly 350 dairy farm families in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.