NORWICH, NY: Chobani has named veteran CNN and Bloomberg correspondent Cristina Alesci as its chief corporate affairs officer, effective on Monday.
In the newly created position, Alesci is reporting to Chobani president and COO Peter McGuiness. She is joining the company's executive leadership team and leading philanthropy, external and internal communications, government and community relations and social impact.
Chobani created the role for Alesci after a year in which it raised its starting wage to $15 an hour and donated more than 7 million products to food banks across the country, it said in a statement.
Since Chobani was founded, the company has focused on using food to drive positive change in communities across the country. Alesci's new role is focused on highlighting Chobani’s core values.
Alesci is joining Chobani from CNN, where she had been a business and political correspondent since 2014 and appeared regularly on “Anderson Cooper 360,” “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer” and “Erin Burnett's Out Front.”
Alesci was also a print and on-air reporter at Bloomberg Television for five years, covering the aftermath of the financial crisis and breaking business and private equity news, according to Chobani.
The brand has also hired Jody Macedonio as CFO, also effective on Monday. Macedonio is also reporting to McGuinness and serving as a member of Chobani’s executive leadership team.
In 2020, Chobani launched four product categories, adding oat milk, plant based and dairy creamers and oat-based functional probiotic drinks.
