Central Leadership Team

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 at Central Garden & Pet 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 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Business School.

Ken is Chief People Officer and leads the Life Sciences business at Central Garden & Pet. He joined Central in 2020 as Senior Vice President of the company’s Central Life Sciences business, which is dedicated to consumer and professionally applied solutions supporting human and animal health. In his role as Chief People Officer, Ken leads the company’s culture and employee-focused strategies, and he continues to oversee the Central Life Sciences business.

Ken is a people-focused leader with over 32 years of general management, supply chain management, and commercial leadership experience in the consumer-packaged goods industry and in the agricultural inputs industry. Prior to joining Central, he served as the CEO of Sun Gro Horticulture.

Ken was born and raised on a family farm in Indiana, was a 10 year 4-H member and has an impressive background of volunteerism and contributions across an assortment of industry boards. Ken has a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University with an emphasis in management accounting and organizational behavior.

Aron is the Chief Supply Chain Officer at Central Garden & Pet. Prior to joining Central in 2021, Aron spent 23 years at Procter & Gamble (P&G). Throughout his time at P&G, he worked across multiple business units and categories across the United States and globally. Most recently, Aron served as Product Supply Vice President of P&G’s International Personal Health Care division in Geneva, Switzerland, where he was responsible for end-to-end supply chain management including customer service and logistics, manufacturing, safety and sustainability, quality assurance and control, cash cycle management and innovation project management.

Aron received his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Iowa State University.

Niko Lahanas is the Chief Financial Officer at Central Garden & Pet. 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 company's Pet Segment, Vice President of Corporate Financial Planning & Analysis, and Director of Business Performance, focusing on business unit profitability. Prior to joining Central, Niko worked in private equity and investment banking for over eight years.

Niko holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from University of California, Berkeley and a Master’s of Business Administration degree from The George Washington University.

Mike is Chief Marketing Officer where he is responsible for leading the company’s consumer insights, marketing, innovation and eCommerce functions as well as driving the company’s Central to Home strategy. Prior to joining Central in 2020, Mike served as Chief Marketing Officer at Performance Health where he led their consumer business and the overall global growth agenda, including brand marketing, innovation, digital and strategy. Under his leadership, the company transformed Biofreeze from a small B2B clinical brand into the fastest growing brand in consumer healthcare. Before his role at Performance Health, Mike served as Vice President and Global Head of Strategy, Insights & Analytics at Mondelēz International.

Mike holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Minor in Black Studies from Boston College and Master of Business Administration from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business.

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.

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.

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.