Pasquale (Pat) Conte has been named executive vice-president and chief financial officer of the Hain Celestial Group, Inc.

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y. — Pasquale (Pat) Conte has been named executive vice-president and chief financial officer of the Hain Celestial Group, Inc. He succeeds Stephen J. Smith, who will remain with the company through the end of the month to ensure a smooth transition.

Mr. Conte joined Hain Celestial in 2009 after acting as a financial consultant to the company previously. Most recently, he was senior vice-president of finance and treasurer. During his time at Hain Celestial, Mr. Conte has overseen the company’s global financial planning and analysis and has worked strategically on mergers and acquisitions, quarterly reporting, taxes and compliance, productivity and other initiatives. Mr. Conte is a certified public accountant and has worked at Colgate-Palmolive Co., NYNEX Corp., Arthur Anderson, L.L.P., and Motorola, Inc.

“Pat has been an integral part of our finance team for over five years, where he has been a key leader in working to drive our continued growth and success over the last several years,” said Irwin D. Simon, founder, president and chief executive officer of Hain Celestial. “Pat’s deep understanding of consumer goods, his forward thinking and tenure at the company make him a natural candidate to help us to continue to growth both organically and through acquisitions on a global basis.”