Our Leadership Team

Joanne is inspired by Vital Farms’ mission, which aligns with her belief that the long-term sustainability of a business is inextricably linked to the long-term sustainability of its stakeholders — including people, hens, and the planet. She brings a breadth of legal experience and a passion for ethically produced food to her important work: leading Vital Farms’ Legal and Impact strategy. Before joining Vital Farms, Joanne spent several years with Levi Strauss & Co, Applied Materials and other technology companies, and in private practice.

As the descendent of a dairy farmer, Stephanie has a connection to farming in her roots. Driven by a desire to make the world a better place, she brings that passion to Vital Farms, where she leads our Strategy function. Stephanie and her team lead the development of our long-term strategy and strategic initiatives that help enable us to build the most trusted food brand. Before Vital Farms, Stephanie held leadership roles with KIND Snacks, The Hershey Company, and McKinsey & Company, and volunteered with Technoserve in Africa, where she helped rural coffee farmers.

Russell Diez-Canseco currently serves as Executive Chairperson, President and CEO of Vital Farms — a Certified B Corp whose purpose is to improve the lives of people, animals, and the planet through food. Since he joined Vital Farms in 2014, the company has developed sustainable relationships with our family farm network, met or exceeded all of its ambitious growth targets, and built an award-winning egg washing and packing plant, Egg Central Station, in Springfield, Missouri. Under Russell’s leadership as CEO, the company’s commitment to its stakeholder model led to a successful public offering in July 2020. Prior to joining Vital Farms, Russell spent several years with McKinsey & Company, H-E-B Grocery, and the Central Intelligence Agency.

As CSCO, Joe leads our supply chain and logistics, production operations, food safety quality assurance, and integrated business planning functions. Joe is inspired to be part of a company that truly values the stakeholder model, where every decision is made with the well-being of our farmers, crew members, customers, consumers, shareholders, communities, and the environment in mind. Joe has over 25 years of experience in various supply chain and distribution roles at leading CPG companies, including Dean Foods and Cadbury Schweppes.

Kathryn has a personal and professional passion for the food system. As the marketing leader for Vital Farms, Kathryn loves that she has an opportunity to advance the importance of humane and ethical food production every day. She joined us in 2016 and has played an instrumental role in evolving the Vital Farms brand from an emerging name to a national leader in ethical products as well as initiatives including our Effie-award winning Bullsh*t-Free campaign and industry-first Transparency product feature. Before Vital Farms, Kathryn held brand marketing roles at Mondelēz International, one of the world’s largest snack companies, and supported brand marketing for consumer household products including Starbucks Coffee, Stride Gum, Ritz Crackers, and Halls.

As Vital Farms’ Corporate Chief Sales Officer and President of the Egg Business Unit, Pete plays a key role in expanding the company’s reach and impact. Since joining in 2020, he has been instrumental in driving Vital Farms’ mission to bring ethical food to more tables. He has been a key leader in scaling the sales team and ensuring consumers can find Vital Farms Eggs on the shelves of approximately 24,000 stores nationwide. His leadership also extends to overseeing our family farm network, fostering strong partnerships and sustainable growth. Prior to Vital Farms, Pete held leadership roles at PepsiCo, SABMiller, Dean Foods, and Advantage Solutions. His servant leadership style, infectious energy, and deep commitment to stakeholders make him a driving force in the industry.

Reena serves as Vital Farms’ CPO, leading the people development, total rewards, and people operations teams. Reena and her team continue to raise the standards on Vital Farms’ unique culture, engaging and developing crew members, and driving sustainable growth. She brings nearly 20 years of human resources experience at Fortune 500 Companies and purpose-driven brands, including Danone North America, Earthbound Farm, and Deloitte.

As CFO, Thilo leads our accounting, treasury, financial planning and analysis, information technology, and investor relations functions. Thilo was drawn to Vital Farms by our commitment to ethically sourced food and the purpose-driven company culture. Along with his genuine passion for food and bread baking (the products of which he enjoys sharing with friends and family), he brings with him almost 20 years of financial experience in CPG at PepsiCo and on Wall Street, as well as a strategy background from his years as a management consultant in Europe and New York.