Central Leadership Team

Niko Lahanas became Chief Executive Officer of Central in September 2024. In this role, he is responsible for leading the broad $3.3 billion portfolio of 65+ pet and garden brands with a team of over 6,700 employees primarily across the United States.

From 2017 until he became CEO, Niko served as Chief Financial Officer at Central. He joined Central in 2006 and has held a variety of finance positions within the Company, including Senior Vice President of Finance, Operations Management & Reporting, Chief Financial Officer of the Pet Segment, Vice President of Corporate Financial Planning & Analysis, and Director of Business Performance of the Garden segment, focusing on business unit profitability. Before joining Central, Niko worked in private equity and investment banking for over eight years.

Niko earned his BA in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley and his MBA from The George Washington University.

Brad became our Chief Financial Officer in September 2024. He joined Central in 2017 as Chief Financial Officer of our Pet Segment. Before joining Central, Brad worked at the Delhaize Group (now Ahold Delhaize), where he served 12 years in finance roles of increasing responsibility, including Chief Financial Officer of their European operations. Prior to Delhaize Group, Brad spent 11 years at Arthur Andersen.

Brad earned his BA in Economics from the University of California, Davis.

Glen is part of the original family that founded TFH in 1952 which was purchased by Central Garden & Pet in 1997. He currently oversees TFH, Nylabone, Four Paws and IMS. Glen was critical to Central’s acquisition of IMS and its integration into Central’s Dog & Cat Brands portfolio. Today, TFH is known as a leading innovator in the pet products industry, and specifically dog chews, as well as the leader in the pet publishing industry.

Glen received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Rutgers College, Rutgers University, in Biological Sciences and his Masters of Science in Ichthyology/Zoology from the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Rhodes University. In 1978, Glen became a Scientific Fellow of the Zoological Society of London.

John became president of Pet Consumer Products of Central in August of 2019 after serving as a Board member since 2018. Before joining Central, John focused on strategic and operational consulting, including mergers and acquisitions in the consumer-packaged goods industry. Prior to that, he held several leadership roles in sales, marketing, and general management at ConAgra, including President of its Frozen Foods Division. In that role, John grew the business both organically and through acquisition from approximately $1.7 to over $2.5 billion in sales.

John earned his BA in Management & Marketing and his MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Business School.

Dan is the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Pennington Seed. He started working in the family business in 1972, undertaking many initiatives and roles until 1982 when he was promoted to Wild Bird Feed Manager. In 1984 he was promoted to an Executive Vice President. In 2014, Dan was promoted into a Senior Vice President-Chief Operating Officer role with Pennington.

Dan attended Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and has a degree in Agri Business, plus numerous additional courses in management.

J.D. is President of Garden Consumer Products for Central Garden & Pet. He has responsibility for Central's branded garden business including sales, service and marketing, the Controls, Grass Seed and Vendor Partner business units as well as Garden Distribution. J.D. has over 36 years of experience in the consumer-packaged goods industry and more than 18 years in the lawn and garden industry. Before joining Central in 2011, he served in increasingly senior positions with Spectrum Brands, Gillette, and Duracell.

J.D. holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of Louisville, and is a graduate of The General Manager Program (TGMP) of Harvard University.

Joyce is a highly-skilled, hands-on leader who brings over 25 years of experience to her role at Central. Most recently, she served as General Counsel & Secretary for Ferrara Candy Company where she oversaw all legal and compliance matters for the company. During her tenure, she played a key leadership role and was responsible for advising the company on litigation, acquisitions, financing, corporate governance and employment law.

Marilyn has been Interim Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Central since September 2024. She rejoined Central after serving as Senior Vice President of HR at Central from October 2016 until April 2023. Marilyn first joined Central in 2011 as the Vice President of HR/Business Partner for Supply Chain & Finance, Accounting and IT, was promoted to Vice President of HR in September of 2013 and then Senior Vice President of HR in October 2016. Prior to joining Central, Marilyn was the Head of Global Change Management for The Roche Group and was a Senior Director of HR for Roche Diagnostics for over seven years. Before Roche, Marilyn spent 13 years at The Clorox Company, holding various roles of increasing responsibility.

Marilyn earned her BA from the University of California, Berkeley and also completed the University of Michigan's Advanced HR Executive Program.

Chris is the Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Central Garden & Pet. He oversees the company’s Digital & Technical Operations and Information Services. Prior to joining Central in 2005, Chris spent nine years in the PricewaterhouseCoopers Management Consulting practice where he served a diverse set of global clients.

Chris holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration / Industrial Distribution Management from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at the University of Chicago.