Scott Morris built Freshpet from nothing, and on Oct. 20 he hands the president’s job to someone else. Nicki Baty, the company’s chief operating officer, takes over that day. Morris, a co-founder, moves into an advisory role.
Baty came to Freshpet in 2024 from Hill’s Pet Nutrition US. She keeps reporting to Billy Cyr, the chief executive, and she stays responsible for commercial operations and the supply chain. Her title becomes president and COO.
The timing is deliberate. Freshpet is close to its 20th anniversary, and the company said the change is meant to ready it for a third decade with a strong leadership team, scaled operations and room to grow.
Morris looks back
Morris described the original idea in simple terms. “When we started Freshpet nearly 20 years ago, we simply wanted to build the kind of pet food company we wished existed,” he said. “We believed pets deserved fresh food, retailers deserved a better partner, and employees deserved a company with a real sense of purpose.”
He said the business outgrew what he first imagined. Of the people who will run it next, he said they “are ready to write the next chapter,” and that he plans to “remain supportive however I can in the years ahead.”
Who picks up his work
Morris’s innovation duties go to a chief innovation officer, a role the company has newly created. Freshpet did not name anyone for it in the announcement.
A second promotion took effect right away. Thembi Machaba, the chief human resources officer, also becomes chief administrative officer. She now oversees sustainability, community relations, property management, corporate security and key management processes.
Cyr called both appointments “well deserved.” He praised the departing co-founder as well. “Scott’s passion for the Freshpet business and his relentless drive to innovate have been instrumental in making Freshpet what it is today,” Cyr said, adding that Morris “will remain available to us as an advisor.”
Walter George, chair of the board, said the founder’s mark is everywhere in the company. “Our products, marketing and the passion for pets, people and planet all have Scott’s fingerprints all over them,” he said. George added that the board believes the team around Morris is “very strong” and ready to keep driving growth.
Cathal Walsh, the other co-founder and managing director of Europe at Freshpet, spoke of a long partnership with Morris. “For nearly 20 years, Scott and I have shared the challenges, setbacks, risks and victories that come with building a company from scratch,” Walsh said. He said he will miss working next to Morris every day, and that he believes the company’s “best days are still ahead.”
