Frisco-based frozen Mexican food manufacturer Ruiz Food Products Inc. announced a series of executive leadership and board changes the company said are designed to position it for the next great growth period.

Ruiz, the largest frozen Mexican food manufacturer in the nation, said its board of directors selected current Chief Operating Officer Kimberli Carroll as president and chief executive officer. Carroll also will serve on the board of directors.

Current CEO Dan Antonelli will transition to the new position of executive board chair, the company said. Kim Ruiz Beck, a Ruiz Foods owner and current board chair, will remain on the board as an owner-director. These changes are effective Jan. 21, the company said.

“As the Ruiz Foods board of directors considered the direction for our next CEO, the best candidate was right here on our leadership team,” Kim Ruiz Beck said in a statement. “Kim Carroll quite literally grew up inside the Ruiz Foods organization over two decades. She began her career in marketing, was a member of the team that developed and deployed the most successful new product in the company’s history, and has served as a leader implementing dynamic, transformative change throughout our entire supply, production, and distribution chains.”

Ruiz Beck said Carroll’s skills will benefit the company.

“In addition, Kim possesses both the leadership skills essential to continue to move the company forward and the deep relationships and commitment to our people and culture that are the foundation of what we do each day,” Ruiz Beck said. “This combination makes her uniquely qualified to lead Ruiz Foods as we boldly work to become the nation’s best frozen food company in the eyes of our team members, suppliers, customers, and consumers.”

Carroll was promoted to chief operating officer in September 2023 and previously was executive vice president, general manager, and chief commercial officer for the company’s Foodservice and Retail businesses.

“I am humbled and honored to lead one of the finest family-owned companies in America,” Carroll said in a statement. “Dan Antonelli has been instrumental in leading the transformation we started in 2021 to become a top performing company, and Kim Ruiz Beck has been our North Star, leading us by embodying the values of the business. Now, it’s our job to continue their legacy by ensuring our brands are the market leaders in every channel we pursue.”

In 1964, Fred Ruiz and his father, Louis, co-founded the privately held company Ruiz Foods Products. Kim Ruiz Beck, the elder daughter of co-founder and chairman emeritus Fred Ruiz, is a member of the board of directors.

Ruiz Foods’ El Monterey brand is the No. 1 selling frozen Mexican food in the United States and Tornados, its snack brand, is a leader on the convenience store roller grill.

Ruiz Foods employs more than 4,000 people and has five manufacturing facilities in California, Texas, and South Carolina.

Get on the list.
Dallas Innovates, every day.

Sign up to keep your eye on what’s new and next in Dallas-Fort Worth, every day.