Hamdi  Ulukaya  

Founder,  CEO  and  President

Dubbed  “the  Steve  Jobs  of  yogurt”  by  Forbes  in  2011,  Hamdi  Ulukaya  has  built  a  nearly  $1  billion  business  in  just  five  years  –  during  this  country’s  worst  economic  crisis  in  decades.  Led  by  his  innovation  and  insight,  energy  and  passion,  genuine  and  authentic  spirit,  marketing  acumen  and  relentless  drive  to  give  consumers  the  products  they  want  and  deserve,  Chobani  is  now  America’s  #1  selling  yogurt  brand.

But  Hamdi’s  success  is  rooted  in  humble  beginnings.  He  grew  up  in  Turkey  working  his  family’s  third-­‐  generation  sheep  farm  and  feta  cheese  operations.  In  1994,  he  moved  to  the  U.S.  to  learn  English  and  study  business,  with  hopes  to  leave  his  family’s  dairy  business  and  pursue  his  own  path.  However,  during  his  time  at  SUNY  Albany,  he  couldn’t  help  but  notice  a  huge  gap  in  the  dairy  product  offerings  between  Turkey  and  America.

With  a  mission  to  bring  superior  products  to  the  U.S.  market,  Hamdi’s  entrepreneurial  vision  led  to  the  creation  of  Johnstown,  N.Y.  based  Euphrates  Feta  in  2002,  which  quickly  became  one  of  the  most  successful  wholesale  feta  cheese  companies  in  the  country.

Three  years  after  founding  Euphrates,  Hamdi  stumbled  upon  a  classified  ad  on  his  desk  for  a  Central  New  York  yogurt  plant  that  had  recently  been  closed  by  Kraft.  After  initially  throwing  the  ad  away,  “there  were  a  million  reasons  not  to  buy  it,”  Ulukaya  trusted  his  gut  and  fished  it  out  of  the  trash.  He  went  to  see  the  plant  that  day,  decided  to  buy  it  on  the  spot  and  officially  founded  Chobani  in  2005.  Hamdi  immediately  hired  four  ex-­‐Kraft  employees  and  began  updating  the  plant  facilities.

It  took  more  over  18  months  to  perfect  the  recipe  for  Chobani  and  in  October  2007,  the  first  cups  hit  store  shelves.  Initial  retail  interest  for  Chobani  primarily  came  from  high-­‐end,  specialty  stores.  Despite  

 

 

his  need  for  revenue,  Hamdi  held  out  for  placement  on  mainstream  yogurt  shelves  based  on  his  belief  that  everyone  deserved  access  to  “good”  yogurt.  And  in  2009,  Hamdi’s  conviction  paid  off  when  Stop  &  Shop,  New  England’s  largest  retailer,  signed  on.  Other  major  retailers  quickly  followed  suit.

Hamdi’s  New  Berlin,  N.Y.  yogurt  plant,  which  used  to  see  one  milk  truck  a  day,  now  uses  over  three  million  pounds  of  milk  a  day  and  ships  nearly  2  million  cases  each  week.  Ulukaya  spearheaded  development  on  Chobani’s  2nd  production  facility  in  Twin  Falls,  Idaho,  which  was  completed  in  just  326  days  following  a  $450  million  investment.  At  nearly  1  million  square  feet,  the  new  Twin  Falls  plant  is  the  largest  yogurt  manufacturing  facility  in  the  world  by  milk  volume.

Under  Hamdi  Ulukaya’s  leadership,  Chobani  has  grown  from  five  employees  to  over  1,700  strong.  Amidst  this  rapid  expansion,  Hamdi  has  managed  to  keep  a  cohesive,  contagious  culture  alive  and  well  in  his  booming  facility.  From  the  company’s  offices  and  production  facilities,  to  its  relationships  with  its  local  communities  and  farmers,  business  partners  and  vendors,  all  the  way  to  the  consumer,  Chobani  has  never  faltered  from  its  company  philosophy,  nothing  but  good.

In  2007,  Hamdi  initiated  Chobani’s  10%  program,  which  directed  10%  of  brand  profits  to  charitable  groups.  In  2010,  he  took  this  one  step  further,  creating  the  Shepherd’s  Gift  Foundation,  an  independent  501c3.  Founded  in  honor  of  his  mother,  a  woman  who  lived  her  life  in  the  spirit  of  a  shepherd  –  an  expression  in  Turkey  used  to  describe  people  who  give  without  expecting  anything  in  return  –  the  Foundation  gives  10%  of  all  Chobani  post-­‐tax  profits  to  people  working  for  positive,  long  lasting  change.  To  date,  the  Shepherd’s  Gift  Foundation  has  awarded  millions  of  dollars  to  over  50  organizations  worldwide.

Hamdi  is  an  entrepreneur  who  recognized  the  opportunity  to  bring  high-­‐quality,  authentic  dairy  products  to  American  consumers  in  a  mass  way.  His  vision  for  Chobani  effectively  transformed  the  U.S.  yogurt  category  and  sent  longtime  industry  leaders  scrambling  to  catch  up.  All  the  while,  he  never  lost  sight  of  his  goal:  to  make  honestly-­‐positioned,  high  quality,  fairly-­‐priced  products  so  that  everyone  —  regardless  of  income  or  geographic  location  —  could  have  access  to  “good”  yogurt.

For  his  leadership,  career  achievements  and  personal  qualities  that  inspire  others  to  excel,  Hamdi  received  the  2012  National  Ernst  &  Young  Entrepreneur  of  the  Year  Award  as  well  as  the  Small  Business  Association’s  2012  Entrepreneurial  Success  Award.  He  was  inducted  into  the  19th  class  of  the  American  Advertising  Federation  Advertising  Hall  of  Achievement  in  2011  and  is  also  an  active  community  member  and  sits  on  the  Advisory  Boards  of  the  Pathfinder  Village,  American  Turkish  Council  and  Federal  Reserve  Bank  of  New  York.

Hamdi  resides  in  Norwich,  N.Y.  When  he’s  not  at  the  Chobani  plant,  he  spends  his  time  traveling,  sailing  and  with  his  German  Shepherds,  Panya  and  Cedric.

 

 

 

                   

Kyle  O’Brien  Executive  Vice  President  of  Sales  

Kyle  O’Brien  leads  the  global  sales  initiatives  for  Chobani  Global  Holdings,  Inc.,  and  is  involved  in  all  core  aspects  of  business  development  for  the  company  and  its  family  of  brands:  Chobani  Greek  Yogurt  —  America’s  #1  selling  yogurt  brand  —  Chobani  Champions  and  Gippsland  Dairy.      With  over  20  years  of  foodservice,  retail,  business  development  and  operations  experience,  Kyle  has  been  instrumental  in  spearheading  Chobani’s  launch.  Since  joining  Chobani  in  2006,  he  has  helped  grow  the  company  from  a  Central  New  York  start  up  to  a  now  $1  billion  dollar  global  enterprise.  His  vision  to  make  Chobani  available  to  mass  consumers  led  him  to  successfully  secure  national  and  global  distribution  in  several  key  markets  —  a  vision  that  leads  Chobani’s  continued  success  today.      Based  in  Charlotte,  N.C.,  Kyle  has  built  Chobani’s  sales  force  from  one  (himself)  to  over  45  employees  strong.  However,  Kyle’s  impact  extends  well  beyond  the  sales  department.  His  energy  is  tangible  throughout  the  organization  as  his  passion  and  ability  to  motivate  others  has  been  instrumental  in  defining  and  fostering  Chobani’s  positive,  tight-­‐knit,  familial  culture,  which  drives  passion  throughout  Chobani’s  1,700+  person  global  workforce.    Kyle  believes  that  in  order  to  move  forward,  you  have  to  give  back.  He  is  involved  in  service  projects  for  his  local  community  and  church.  He  also  works  closely  with  Chobani’s  charitable  arm,  the  Shepherd’s  Gift  Foundation,  which  gives  10%  of  the  company’s  post-­‐tax  profits  to  charities  worldwide.    In  his  free  time,  Kyle  enjoys  the  three  “R’s:”  reading,  riding  his  road  bike,  and  the  Red  Sox.  He  is  an  avid  traveler  and  enjoys  spending  time  with  his  family.