Michael Pellegrino is the President & Chief Growth Officer of Sargento. Appointed to this role in 2016, Michael is responsible for the company’s business units, Consumer Products and Food Service & Ingredients, which have revenues of almost $1.8 billion. He also leads the company’s strategic planning process and growth agenda to deliver the Sargento long-term planning goals. His teams have a relentless focus to challenge the status quo, accelerate growth, and to realize the company’s vision to be the most innovative, best-loved real food company. 

Prior to his current role, Michael led the Sargento Consumer Products Division’s efforts as Division President. During that time, his team accelerated the growth of the Sargento brand to become a national market-share leader in the retail cheese category. He also had oversight of integrated marketing campaigns that made Sargento one of the most recognized brands in the dairy case. In 2013, he earned the additional role of Chief Customer Officer. In this capacity, he also had responsibility for the ongoing performance of the company’s B2B division, Food Service & Ingredients, partnering with some of the nation’s top casual dining locations, the produce industry, and several consumer and meal kit manufacturers. 

Previously, Michael spent 20 years with Kraft Foods Inc., where he held a variety of Marketing, Strategy, and General Manager Roles across the Cereals, Cheese, and Pizza Divisions. He led the company’s worldwide Strategic Planning process. 

Michael is a member of World 50 – a private community where corporate-level executives discover new ideas by collaborating to find solutions to critical strategic issues. World 50 members come from all corners of the globe and from the most-respected organizations in the world. Early in his career, Michael was among the “Forty Under 40” in Crain’s Chicago Business magazine. Michael holds a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing and an M.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse. 

Outside of Sargento, Michael serves on the board of The Milo’s Tea Company, the CPG Advisory Board for Avery Denison, and helps his daughter with her non-profit, The Cycle Project, whose mission is to address Period Poverty across Wisconsin and other parts of the U.S.  He lives in Kohler, Wisconsin with his wife, Maryellen, and their four children.