Blue Apron Hires New COO
Blue Apron Holdings has a new chief operating officer.
Charlean Gmunder takes over the job, bringing more than 30 years of food operations experience to her new role, including deep knowledge in food manufacturing and fulfillment, Blue Apron said. As COO, Gmunder is responsible for overseeing Blue Apron’s fulfillment, supply chain, food safety and quality assurance, and physical operations, including logistics, procurement and customer experience. Gmunder reports to President and CEO Linda Findley Kozlowski.
“Charlean’s background, experience and accomplishments represent an excellent complement to Blue Apron’s leadership and operations teams,” said Kozlowski. “Her experience in food system operations, coupled with her deep knowledge of new product development and expanding capacity, will be critical as we continue to execute on our growth strategies.”
Most recently, Gmunder was the VP of catering operations with United Airlines, where she was responsible for six company-owned direct food-related manufacturing sites and all third-party manufacturing worldwide. Her business unit was responsible for over $1 billion in annual revenue with 3,000 employees, including responsibility for product development, marketing, sales, supply chain, operations, regulatory compliance and customer experience.
Prior to United Airlines, Gmunder held operations roles at Maple Leaf Foods, Chiquita Brands, Promotion in Motion, Premio Foods, National Starch Food Innovation and Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co.
“This is an exciting time for the company as it continues to focus on product innovation, improved marketing and operational efficiencies to leverage changes in consumer behaviors around eating more meals at home. I look forward to working closely with Linda and the rest of the Blue Apron team towards continued progress on the company’s growth strategy set forth last year,” said Gmunder.
Gmunder received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and a Master of Business Administration from Rutgers University in New Jersey.
Blue Apron, based in New York City, is No. 99 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2020 list of the top food retailers in North America.
