Leaders

Reed Howlett, Chief Executive Officer

Reed is a seasoned consumer goods executive who has been extremely active in the natural pet food industry and beyond. From his start in corporate finance at Chase Manhattan Bank to senior leadership roles across finance, marketing, and sales at Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, he has played a role in growing companies across a variety of disciplines. But once he experienced the world of natural pet food, there was no going back – not even to ice cream.

He first served as the CEO of Nature’s Variety, a full-line natural pet food company, and the North American leader in raw diets for dogs and cats. While there, he led the rapid expansion of the company into new channels and saw the company named to the Inc. 5000 for three years in a row. Now, he leads Wellness Pet and all of its brands, bringing high-quality, natural meals, treats, and dental chews to pets and pet families around the world.

At home, he stays active with his Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Jack, who excels in agility drills, playing fetch, and serving as CEO of the sofa. When he’s not following Jack’s lead, Reed spends his time running, swimming, traveling, hiking, reading, and gathering as a family with his wife, two kids, and, of course, Jack.

Sanjay Singh, Chief Financial Officer

Sanjay has more than 30+ years of strategy and finance planning and a proven record of driving profitable growth in the consumer sector and beyond. He brings world-class credibility, leadership and financial fluency that enhances long-term value creation, operational efficiency, and discipline.

Before joining Wellness Pet, Sanjay was a Finance and Strategy consultant. Prior to that, he served as US CFO at Qurate Inc. (formerly QVC / HSN Inc.) and had a successful 20-year international career at Procter & Gamble.

At Wellness Pet, he is responsible for driving financial results, managing financial planning and analysis, and leading corporate finance and investor relations. He holds a bachelor’s degree from St. Xavier’s College in Calcutta, India, and is a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in India.

Sanjay has lived in six countries and travelled to 50 countries which has cultivated an appreciation of world history, cultures, and cuisines.

He is also a history buff and an aspiring chef.

Heather Gadon, Global Chief People Officer, People & Engagement

Heather has brought best-in-class HR practices and solutions to companies of all sizes, from start-ups to multinational organizations experiencing fast growth and diverse cultures. At Wellness Pet, she creates, implements, and leads the people strategy – working to make Wellness Pet a best-in-class organization. When your personal values mirror your professional values, you do your best work and that is what makes Wellies special.

Heather and her family are lucky to have two dogs. Her Golden Retriever named Ellie, who is simply bursting with personality, and Bean, a mixed-breed lab rescue who enjoys curling up on a blanket. Both dogs have a blast whether on a long walk or a hike in the woods.

Kevin Penwell, Chief Customer Officer

Kevin has more than 25 years of experience in consumer-packaged goods sales and commercial leadership, with a strong record of driving growth, profitability, and customer partnerships across channels.

Before joining Wellness Pet, he served as Senior Vice President, North American Sales & Go-to-Market at McCain Foods, where he helped return the business to growth. Prior to that, he spent more than a decade at Ocean Spray, most recently as Senior Vice President of U.S. Sales and Sales Strategy, driving record sales and profitability. Earlier in his career, Kevin spent 16 years at The Gillette Company and Procter & Gamble in senior sales leadership roles, after beginning his career in finance at Gillette.

At Wellness Pet, he is responsible for leading customer strategy, sales execution, and go-to-market initiatives to accelerate growth and strengthen customer partnerships.
He earned his bachelor’s degree and MBA from Boston College.

Outside of work, Kevin enjoys spending time with his wife, four active children, and their beloved dog, Riggs.

Jim Scott, Chief Supply Chain Officer

Jim has over 35 years of experience in operations, supply chain management, food safety, and quality, and is a Six Sigma Black Belt Certified professional.

Before joining Wellness Pet, he served as Vice President of Operations & Supply Chain, USA, at Maple Leaf Foods, where he led U.S. operations and supply chain transformation through enhanced operational efficiency, supply chain network optimization, and strategic process improvements.

At Wellness Pet, he is responsible for managing the end-to-end supply chain strategy, growing his high-performing team, and ensuring industry-leading service through data-driven execution and continuous improvement.

He is an industrial engineering graduate from Huber College in Toronto. 

Jim and his wife are the parents of three wonderful children and pet parents of Murphy, their beloved brown Tabby cat. In his free time, Jim enjoys playing hockey, hiking, bike riding, gardening, and spending time with his family.

Jessica Gorbet, Vice President of Legal

Jess brings a holistic mindset to enterprise risk management and a partnership mentality to her in-house counsel practice at Wellness Pet. She works closely with global leaders across the organization to execute the company’s ongoing strategy. She leverages her extensive legal experience in the consumer package goods industry, stemming from her time at Keurig Dr Pepper and her contract negotiations skills honed at WilmerHale, LLP to drive value and best-in-class practices. Jess holds a law degree from Northeastern University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Colby College.

Jess lives in the suburban wilds of Boston with her husband, daughter and a pair of dogs named after James Bond characters, Moneypenny (a laid-back labradoodle) and Fiona (her adventure-loving pittie mix). When she’s not chasing after her dogs and child in the woods, Jess has been known to frequent the trivia and mini-golf circuits. 

Greg Kean, Global Senior Vice President, Innovation & Nutrition

Greg has a job most people and pets would love to get their paws on: Innovation & Nutrition (also known as creator & tester). With a career rooted in pet food Innovation and R&D, Greg has spent years turning consumer insights into nutritious, purposeful products that support the health and happiness of pets and their families.

While he’s proud of every product brought to market, he’s even prouder of how they’re created with a focus on nutritional integrity, product safety, and long-term wellbeing.

His favorite taste testers? Violet, a loving and playful Boston Terrier mix, and Arlo, a vigilant Maltese mix, who eagerly help evaluate new recipes.

Outside of work, Greg finds balance through time with family and staying active outdoors, especially running.

Martin Bahr, Managing Director, Asia Pacific

Martin has chased his passion for pets all over the Asia-Pacific region. Starting in Marketing and Sales and moving into General Management early on in his career, his focus has always been on developing new business and setting up strong local teams. He set up the Wellness Pet APAC organization, the first company venture outside of North America, which is now successfully established with offices in Japan, Australia, Taiwan, and Singapore.

He currently lives and works in Singapore, where he doesn’t have a dog at the moment due to travel and space. But he is lucky to have a lot of friends with pets – and those friends’ pets are lucky that he always brings along a bag of WHIMZEES® dental chews when he visits. In addition to being a great house guest, he considers himself a passionate hobby chef and baker, collector of contemporary art, fashion, and interior design enthusiast, and the proud owner of a growing jazz record collection.