DENVER – Custom Made Meals (CMM), a leading national provider of fresh, ready-to-cook (RTC) entrees, appetizers, and sides for the meat and deli departments of retail grocery and club stores, announced today that it has appointed Molly Montgomery as CEO, effective today. Ms. Montgomery has served on the CMM Board of Directors since it was acquired by Stellex Capital Management LLC (Stellex) in May of 2021 and will continue to serve on the board in her new role. Stellex is a middle-market private investment firm with strong experience in the food industry. Ms. Montgomery succeeds Dale Easdon, who has led the Company as CEO for the past three years and has worked closely with management to ensure a smooth transition.
“We would like to thank Dale for his leadership and contributions in bringing CMM to the enviable position we see it occupying today,” said Trey Lee, Managing Director at Stellex. “We wish him well as he embarks on his future endeavors.”
Mr. Lee added, “CMM is a fast-growing company taking advantage of consumer trends for RTC foods and the growth of the fresh perimeter at retail. In part due to Molly’s contributions to the Company’s commercial strategy, CMM is at a new inflection point in its growth and we believe she has the unique leadership, industry and operational expertise to execute the next stage of the company’s evolution. Not only does Molly have extensive knowledge of the fresh food industry, but she also has experience implementing automation, continuous improvement, and processes that enable high-growth companies to scale.”
Ms. Montgomery has deep experience in the better-for-you food, agricultural and pharmaceutical sectors and a passion for sustainability. She currently serves as a Board Director at Wilbur-Ellis, The Wine Group and Benson Hill. Previously, Ms. Montgomery served as President & CEO and Board Director of Landec Corporation (NASDAQ: LNDC), where she led two operating businesses: Curation Foods and Lifecore Biomedical. During her 10-year tenure at Landec, Lifecore expanded into new markets and grew rapidly in both revenue and profitability. At Curation Foods, Ms. Montgomery repositioned the commodity vegetable business to a diversified, fresh business with sustainable business practices and brands that include Eat Smart® vegetable and salads, Yucatan® and Cabo Fresh® guacamole and O® Olive chef-inspired vinegar and olive oils.
Prior to Landec, Ms. Montgomery held a variety of positions in strategy, marketing, engineering and operations within the consumer products, pharmaceutical and software industries in both large corporations as well as early-stage companies.
“After serving as a CMM Board Director over the past year, I am thrilled to more closely align myself with the outstanding team to deliver high quality, fresh foods to our customers,” said Ms. Montgomery. “In addition to an existing core offering of fresh, chef-inspired RTC products that consumers already crave, CMM continues to develop innovative offerings that provide unique, convenient meal alternatives for consumers while reducing the complexities of procurement, labor management, food safety and waste for our retail customers. With the ongoing support of Stellex, CMM will continue to invest in talent, infrastructure and automation in order to scale and meet the demand in the fast-growing fresh, RTC category.”
Ms. Montgomery holds a Bachelor of Engineering Science and Master of Engineering in Chemical Engineering from the University of Louisville and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
About Custom Made Meals
Custom Made Meals is a Denver-based leading manufacturer of fresh, oven-ready, value-added entrees and appetizers sold through more than 15,000 retail grocery locations nationwide. Their products include kabobs and skewers, valued-added chicken, pork, beef entrees and a variety of appetizers. More information about Custom Made Meals can be found at www.custommademeals.com.
About Stellex Capital Management
With offices in New York, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and London, Stellex is a private equity firm with over $2.6 billion in AUM. Stellex seeks to identify and deploy capital in opportunities that have the potential to provide stability, improvement, and growth. Portfolio companies benefit from Stellex’s industry knowledge, operating capabilities, network of senior executives, strategic insight, and access to capital. Sectors of particular focus include specialty manufacturing, industrial and business services, aerospace & defense, automotive, government services, transportation, logistics and food. Additional information may be found at www.stellexcapital.com.
