SunOpta Announces Appointment of Two New Members to its Board of Directors

SunOpta Inc. (“SunOpta”) (Nasdaq:STKL) (TSX:SOY), a leading global company focused on organic, non-genetically modified and specialty foods, today announced Leslie Starr Keating and Rebecca Fisher have been appointed to SunOpta’s Board of Directors. Concurrent with the appointments of Ms. Keating and Ms. Fisher, independent director Margaret Shan Atkins has resigned as a director after serving 5 years as a member of SunOpta’s Board.

Leslie Starr Keating is a successful corporate executive with 35 years of leadership experience in the consumer products industry and a proven track record of achievements in operations and supply chain functions. Ms. Keating will provide the Board of Directors with valuable expertise in these areas as SunOpta continues to transform its operations. The Board of Directors expects to appoint Ms. Keating to serve as a member of the Audit Committee and Corporate Governance Committee.

Rebecca Fisher is an accomplished senior human resource executive with expertise in human capital strategy, business and culture transformation, talent management and succession planning. Ms. Fisher’s experience in building high performing teams and leveraging performance management and comprehensive rewards systems to deliver enhanced business results will be beneficial to the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors expects to appoint Ms. Fisher to serve as a member of the Compensation Committee and Corporate Governance Committee.

“We are pleased to have Leslie and Becky join SunOpta’s Board of Directors. Leslie and Becky bring diverse perspectives and extensive food industry expertise to our board,” said Dean Hollis, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SunOpta. “Leslie’s deep experience in overseeing supply chain management and go to market transformation strategy and Becky’s extensive skills in organizational design and alignment in order to achieve productivity goals will be invaluable to SunOpta as we work to deliver our strategic goals. We look forward to their contributions.”

Added Mr. Hollis, “We would also like to thank Shan for her many contributions to SunOpta as a long-standing independent director. She previously served as Chair of the Audit Committee and most recently as Chair of the Compensation Committee. We are grateful for Shan’s service and expertise over the past 5 years, and we wish her well in her future endeavors.”

About Leslie Starr Keating

Ms. Keating served as Executive Vice President of Supply Strategy and Transformation for Advance Auto Parts from March 2017 until her retirement in December 2018. While in that role, she led the development and execution of the re-architecture of the business model to deliver transformative financial value. Prior to joining Advance Auto Parts, Ms. Keating was with PepsiCo for over 31 years and served as the Senior Vice President of PepsiCo Supply Chain from 2008 until her retirement in 2017 with responsibility for Frito Lay’s North American Supply Chain. In that role, Ms. Keating was accountable for all aspects of Frito Lay’s supply chain including manufacturing, warehousing and transportation. Prior to her role as Senior Vice President of Supply Chain, Ms. Keating served as Senior Vice President of Commercialization and Supply Chain where she oversaw the innovation commercialization and service agendas for PepsiCo. Ms. Keating has held numerous leadership roles throughout her 31-year career at PepsiCo. Before joining PepsiCo, Ms. Keating started her career with Procter and Gamble. Ms. Keating currently serves on the Board of Directors of Chesapeake Energy Corporation. Ms. Keating earned her undergraduate degree from Virginia Tech and her MBA from Georgia State University.

About Rebecca Fisher

Ms. Fisher served as Senior Vice President of Human Resources, North America Beverages for PepsiCo, prior to her retirement in December 2018. She was responsible for leading a large-scale organizational transformation and leveraged her extensive talent management expertise to drive significant change in culture and engagement. From 2015 until 2017, Ms. Fisher was Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Corporate Talent Management and Latin America Talent Management. In that role, Ms. Fisher was accountable for the development of a multi-year talent strategy and operating plans for global functions and for the Latin America sector. Previously, Ms. Fisher was Vice President of Human Resources North America Customer Teams and PepsiCo America Foods between 2012 to 2015, where she led the organization design of a North America commercial team and realigned the sales team to improve customer management and increase sales. Ms. Fisher held Senior Director and Vice President of Human Resources roles at PepsiCo from 2005-2011. Before joining PepsiCo, Ms. Fisher worked at Raytheon. Ms. Fisher is a graduate of Texas Christian University.

About SunOpta Inc.

SunOpta Inc. is a leading global company focused on organic, non-genetically modified ("non-GMO") and specialty foods. SunOpta specializes in the sourcing, processing and packaging of organic and non-GMO food products, integrated from seed through packaged products; with a focus on strategic vertically integrated business models. SunOpta's organic and non-GMO food operations revolve around value-added grain, seed, fruit and vegetable-based product offerings, supported by a global sourcing and supply infrastructure.

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Scott Van Winkle
ICR
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