Universal Corporation has announced the appointment of Arthur J. Schick, Jr., retired Vice President of Proprietary Flavors within the Beverage Concentrate Division of PepsiCo, Inc., to the Company’s Board of Directors.

Schick’s appointment is effective 1 April 2023, at which time the Board will expand to nine directors, eight of whom are independent. “We are thrilled to welcome Art Schick to our Board of Directors,” said George C. Freeman, III, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Universal Corporation. “Art is an experienced, well-respected global consumer products executive with in-depth knowledge of the food and beverage industry, and he has deep-rooted expertise and knowledge of the ingredients industry from the top down. He brings tremendous value to Universal, with over four decades of experience in ingredients, strategic supplier development, procurement, operations, international supply chain management, and product research and development. As we continue to grow our plant-based ingredients business, his breadth of experience in the ingredients and value-added supplier space represents a terrific and invaluable addition to our Board. Art’s appointment demonstrates Universal’s continued commitment to the success and future growth of our ingredients platform, and we look forward to benefiting from his strategic insights and perspective.”
Schick is a 35-year veteran of PepsiCo, Inc., a USD 79 billion global leader and publicly traded food and beverage company. While at PepsiCo, he served his last 17 years as the Vice President of Proprietary Flavors within the Beverage Concentrate Division. In that role, Schick led PepsiCo’s organization that manufactured all proprietary flavours for the company’s global beverage brands, and led the global sourcing strategies and supply chain management for the organization. Schick also spent over a decade as a contributing board member for the Flavor Extract Manufacturers Association (“FEMA”), the premier national association of the U.S. flavour industry, serving as FEMA’s President in 2013. FEMA supports the industry in flavour ingredient safety and in regulatory and legislative guidance and advocacy. It is comprised of flavour manufacturers, flavour users, flavour ingredient suppliers, and others with an interest in the U.S. flavour industry. Schick currently serves as President of Alpha Sierra Global, LLC, a company providing strategic and operational consulting to companies focused on consumer products, flavor compounding and ingredients. Throughout his distinguished career, Schick has a proven track record of delivering high-level operating performance across global manufacturing sites and demonstrating expertise in international supplier development and supply chain management.
“When presented with the opportunity to serve on Universal’s Board of Directors, I was impressed with the Company’s long and successful history in international tobacco operations and I was excited about the tremendous upside potential for the Company as it expands its plant-based ingredients platform,” said Schick. “Universal already has a strong foundation and sustainable strategy to position itself as a leader in the ingredients space. I look forward to working with my fellow directors and the Company’s management team as Universal charts its course for a bright future.”