Chris Gaudette of Haverhill’s Cedar’s Foods was recently named 2020 CFO of the Year by the Boston Business Journal.
The newspaper’s award recognizes chief financial officers who make a difference in their companies, organizations and communities. The 2020 award especially recognizes business executives who have helped steer their organizations through the pandemic. Along with nine other award recipients in a variety of business sizes and categories, Gaudette was chosen from more than 200 nominations. Gaudette, who joined Cedar’s Food in 2001, was nominated in the large companies category. During his tenure, the company enjoyed consecutive annual double-digit growth and expanded from one 24,000-square-foot building to four buildings in Ward Hill, totaling almost 500,000 square feet.
“I have dedicated my career to a company I fully believe in and I am whole heartedly thankful to the Hanna family of Cedar’s Foods for allowing me the opportunity to grow the company. As I accept this award, I am reminded of the hard work each of our employees put in every day, but especially during COVID-19 and I thank them for their efforts which ultimately allowed our company to continue operations through the pandemic,” said Gaudette.
Under Gaudette’s leadership, the Cedar’s has grown with national distribution and broadened its business through diversification with the addition of multiple private label and co-manufacturing contracts. At the end of 2019, Gaudette and the executive team of Cedar’s Foods acquired the ready-to-eat overnight oats brand, Brekki Foods. Brekki achieved national distribution by last month and, the company said, is set on a strong growth trajectory.
“Chris has been a critical member of the Cedar’s Foods family since the first day he joined our company,” said Charles Hanna, CEO of Cedar’s Foods. “His ability to lead not only his team, but also the company was especially crucial during the height of COVID-19. As an essential business, our company of over 1,000 employees thrived under his leadership. We celebrate him every day, and we could not be more proud of him today.”