RICHMOND, CALIF. — Heirloom and organic rice company Lotus Foods has promoted Andrew Burke, former president and chief operating officer, to the role of chief executive officer, effective July 30. Mr. Burke takes over the role from the company’s co-founders, Caryl Levine and Ken Lee, both of whom will remain on Lotus Foods’ board.
“I’ve had a wonderful four years working with Caryl and Ken and have been humbled to do this important work alongside them,” Mr. Burke said. “The entire team at Lotus Foods is united around our mission and committed to growing and innovating. I couldn’t be more honored and excited to continue to scale the impact of Lotus Foods with this group of talented people.”
Mr. Burke has been with Lotus Foods since 2019, when he was hired as COO and president. His duties in these roles included oversight of the company’s operations, supply chain management, finance, marketing and sales functions. Prior to Lotus Foods, Mr. Burke worked as vice president at NatureBox, a multi-channel snack company, for just under two years and as president and CEO of craft chocolate maker TCHO Ventures for nearly three years. Earlier, Mr. Burke was executive vice president, general manager North America, at Diamond Foods, Inc. and also spent time with Kraft Foods.
“This has been a transition four years in the making,” said Ms. Levine and Mr. Lee. “During Andrew’s tenure, he has successfully steered the company through the turbulent pandemic and post-pandemic years, increasing revenue and recruiting new creative talent. We can’t think of a better person to take on the CEO role as we shift our focus to expanding regenerative organic agriculture globally and fighting the urgent issue of climate change.”
