New Board Additions
Finlays Solutions, the Glenview, Ill.-based B2B beverage supplier specializing in tea, coffee, botanical, and fruit-based solutions, has named Kristin Bird and Trevor Bynum as Independent Non-Executive Directors on its advisory board. Bird is president of food service at The Marzetti Company, where she has driven channel growth since 2019 and brings more than 25 years of foodservice experience across Tyson Foods, Hillshire Brands, Sara Lee, Unilever, and ConAgra Foods. Bynum is the former president and CEO of Welch Foods, credited with a multi-year turnaround of that cooperative, and has held senior commercial roles at Schwan's, WhiteWave Foods, and General Mills.
The two join founding Independent Non-Executive Director Jennifer Aspen Mason, Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer of J.M. Huber Corporation, who brings sustainability and innovation credentials from prior roles at Mars, Inc. and Unilever. CEO Darnell Ross said the combined board gives the company "a broad range of perspectives as we capitalize on the unique advantages we've created by bringing tea, coffee, fruit-based beverages, botanicals and aseptic manufacturing under one roof."
The Leahy-IFP Context
The advisory board expansion follows Finlays Solutions' 2025 integration of Leahy-IFP, a move that the company says doubled its North American manufacturing footprint and opened access to high-tech aseptic beverage production and fruit-based formats — including high-growth Refresher-style beverages increasingly popular in foodservice daypart programs. Aseptic manufacturing is a critical back-of-house consideration for operators and commissary kitchens sourcing shelf-stable beverage bases that don't require refrigerated storage, reducing cold-chain burden and simplifying procurement for large-volume accounts.
For foodservice operators and cold chain and storage managers evaluating beverage ingredient suppliers, the governance move signals that Finlays Solutions is investing in channel-specific expertise at the strategic level — not just the sales level. Both Bird and Bynum carry deep go-to-market and M&A integration experience that will be relevant as the company pursues growth with restaurant chains, contract feeders, and beverage program specifiers.
Advisory Board Roster
The full advisory board includes Sean Pelling, Group Financial Director of John Swire & Sons, serving as chairman; James Woodrow, Managing Director of James Finlay Limited; Julian Rutherford, CFO and COO of James Finlay Limited; alongside Ross and CFO Brent Fayhee from the Finlays Solutions executive team. The board was established in April 2026 to counsel senior leadership as the company executes growth in natural beverage categories. With operations spanning Illinois, Rhode Island, Texas, the U.K., and Kenya, Finlays Solutions is positioned as a vertically integrated supplier for foodservice operators sourcing at scale.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
