Kneaders Bakery & Café names new COOKneaders Bakery & Café names new COO

Kneaders Bakery & Café has promoted food-safety specialist Neil Checketts to the newly created position of chief operating officer, effective immediately, the company said Tuesday.

Checketts, a registered environmental health scientist, has served for the past year as Kneaders’ vice president of food safety and quality assurance. He was the first to serve in that role.

Checketts was previously senior director of food safety at Walmart, where he managed the food-safety and communicable illness program for nearly 4,000 stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Before that, he was vice president of food safety, quality assurance, quality control and regulatory affairs for Sobey’s Inc., a Canadian retailer. He also worked for several health departments in Utah.

“Neil brings extensive experience and knowledge in food safety,” said James Worthington, CEO of Kneaders Bakery & Café, in a statement. “His dedication to the company is unmatched and his acumen is untouched. From working in food safety roles for juggernauts such as Walmart, to serving in state regulatory roles, Neil is the ideal candidate for this role.”

Based in Orem, Utah, the fast-casual Kneaders Bakery & Café chain has more than 50 corporate and franchised units in six Western states.

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