IRVINE, Calif. — Golden State Foods (GSF), one of the largest diversified suppliers to the foodservice and retail industries, is pleased to announce the promotion of Shellie Frey to vice president and chief branding and communications officer, effective this week. Based in the company’s Irvine, California corporate headquarters and partnering with all GSF businesses across the globe, Shellie will provide strategic oversight of all internal and external branding and communications efforts. She will develop forward-thinking, visionary insights and new approaches to promote GSF’s positive impact on its customers, industries, associates, and communities as a leading global organization.
“Shellie brings great value to GSF and has successfully guided our communications initiatives for the past two decades, since joining our company and establishing the department she continues to lead so effectively today,” said GSF Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mark Wetterau. “We are pleased to recognize Shellie’s outstanding contributions to our global organization with this promotion, which reflects the important role that branding and communications plays in the long-term success and reputation of Golden State Foods.”
A 20-year GSF associate with more than three decades of branding and communications expertise, Shellie most recently chaired GSF’s 75th Anniversary Steering Committee and led the company’s year-long celebration of its milestone anniversary, along with the GSF Foundation‘s (GSFF) 20-year anniversary. She guided the overall branding, communications, activities, and special events, including a live Legacy Program performance of GSF’s history and numerous local facility celebrations around the world.
As group vice president, global branding and communications since 2012, Shellie has led all internal and external communications and branding for GSF. She currently serves on GSF’s Management Committee, Strategic Planning Council, Cybersecurity Council, and the GSFF Board of Directors. In recent years, Shellie has chaired the company’s annual global management conference and the GSF Foundation’s 2020 Associate Campaign, which generates financial and volunteer support for the organization’s associate-run-and-funded corporate nonprofit. She has also developed a talented team that collaborates to implement the strategic communications and branding initiatives of GSF’s growing global businesses.
Shellie joined Golden State Foods in 2002 as director of corporate communications and earned a promotion to senior director, corporate communications in 2007. Her video production leadership helped earn the company a coveted Telly Award for outstanding corporate video production. Prior to GSF, she served in a variety of communication roles for a number of companies, including the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee (Salt Lake City, Utah), TouchStone Software (Huntington Beach, California), Fieldbrook Productions (Santa Ana, California), and Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide (New York, New York). Shellie is also a published author of multiple national and global magazine articles and a non-fiction book series.
Shellie earned her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in Communications at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where she also taught as a guest professor for several years. She has earned more than two dozen awards and recognitions for her multi-media communication excellence, volunteer service, ethics, and leadership, including a 2016 Women Worth Watching® Award from Profiles in Diversity Journal. She previously served on the OneOC Board of Directors and as president of the BYU Management Society (Orange County Chapter), and she currently volunteers as president of her church’s local Primary children’s ministry, part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
About Golden State Foods
Golden State Foods (GSF), one of the largest diversified suppliers to the foodservice and retail industries, feeds one billion people every day! Headquartered in Irvine, California, the multi-national company is values-based with proven performance in superior quality, innovation, and customer service. Established in 1947, GSF and its family of companies currently service 200+ leading brands (125,000+ restaurants/stores in more than 50 countries) from its 50 locations on five continents. Its core businesses include: manufacturing of liquid products, protein, produce, dairy/aseptic, and provides custom distribution services. The company employs approximately 6,000 associates and is management-owned and run. Golden State Foods also operates a national non-profit organization, the GSF Foundation.
