LIFEWAY FOODS, INC. (NASDAQ:LWAY) Files An 8-K Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers
Item 5.02 Departure of Director or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
Effective October 4, 2019, Lifeway’s Board of Directors has appointed Eric Hanson, 45, its Chief Financial and Accounting Officer, to the additional position of Treasurer. Mr. Hanson has served as our Chief Financial Officer since November 2018, our Chief Accounting Officer since May 2018, and as our Corporate Controller since July 2016. He also served as our interim Chief Financial Officer from May 2018 through August 2018 before we permanently appointed him to that position in November 2018. Prior to joining Lifeway, he served as Director of External Reporting for CPG International LLC in Skokie, Illinois from 2014 through July 2016; and as Audit Manager for Deloitte & Touche, LLP in Chicago, Illinois from 2012 through 2014. He also held various senior financial positions with Crowe Horwath from 2003 through 2012 and has over 20 years of financial reporting experience. Mr. Hanson holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Illinois.
Also effective October 4, 2019, Lifeway’s Board of Directors has appointed Douglas A. Hass, 43, its General Counsel, to the additional position of Secretary. Mr. Hass has served as our General Counsel and Assistant Secretary since 2016. He has more than twenty-five years of legal, management, and operations experience, centered on technology-intensive businesses. He joined Lifeway in March 2016 from international law firm DLA Piper LLP (US). From 2009 through 2016, in private practice, Mr. Hass advised and represented a wide range of public and privately-held clients on a variety of labor and employment, corporate, and technology/new media matters and related litigation. From 1998 until 2006, Mr. Hass was Chief Operations Officer at ImageStream, a multinational telecommunications and Internet networking equipment manufacturer. Prior to 1998, Mr. Hass was Vice President and Partner at Skye/net, a major Midwest-based Internet service provider. He is the incoming Chair of the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Employment and Labor Law Network for the 2019-2020 year. He holds a Juris Doctor from Indiana University Maurer School of Law in Bloomington, Indiana.
No new compensatory or severance arrangements were entered into in connection with Mr. Hanson’s appointment as Treasurer or Mr. Hass’s appointment as Secretary.
Edward Smolyansky, 39, who served as Lifeway’s Treasurer since 2004 and as its Secretary since 2012 until Lifeway’s Board appointed Mr. Hanson and Mr. Hass to those positions, retains his position as Lifeway’s Chief Operating Officer.
About LIFEWAY FOODS, INC. (NASDAQ:LWAY)
Lifeway Foods, Inc. (Lifeway) is engaged in the manufacturing of probiotic, cultured, functional dairy health food products. The Company is engaged in the sale of fermented dairy products, which are produced and are sold to consumers through a network of distributors and retailers in the United States. Through its distributors, the Company also sells its products to retailers in Mexico, Costa Rica, Dubai, Hong Kong, China and the Caribbean. The Company’s primary product is kefir, a dairy beverage similar to but distinct from yogurt, in various flavors and in various package configurations. In addition to the drinkable products, Lifeway manufactures Lifeway Farmer Cheese, a line of various farmer cheeses. Kefir also serves as a base for lower-calorie dressings, dips, marinades, soups or sauces and as a basic ingredient in other home-prepared foods. Recipes are made available through the Company’s Website. The Company also markets and sells its ProBugs line of drinkable kefir.
