Herbal brand, Gaia Herbs announced that Angela McElwee will move into the role of president, effectively immediately.
McElwee has 23 years’ experience in the natural products industry and will assume day-to-day operations, enabling founder and CEO Ric Scalzo to focus on Gaia’s herbal formulations and deep quality commitment, vertically integrated farming, and Gaia’s visionary evolution.
McElwee joined Gaia in 2008 as the Vice President of Sales, and was promoted to Vice President, Sales Operations and elected to the Board of Directors in 2013.
She has contributed to numerous milestones for Gaia Herbs including more than tripling net sales, launching over 50 new products, spearheading a rebrand of the entire product line, as well as establishing the industry’s first seed to shelf traceability program MeetYourHerbs.
“Angela’s focus on people and process, and her deep belief in our mission provide her with a strong foundation for this role,” said Scalzo. “She has been a critical part of our business as VP of Sales Operations, and will play an essential role in strategically growing our brand, furthering our mission of cultivating health and wellbeing by creating sustainable relationships between plants and people.”
McElwee will continue to oversee Gaia’s sales strategy, along with fellow natural products industry veteran Guinevere Lynn, who has been promoted to Senior Director of Sales, as well as Tammy Mclver-Gay, Vice President of Business Development.
The shift allows Gaia to balance continued growth while staying true to founding values and will enable Scalzo to focus on farm operations in both North Carolina and Costa Rica expert herbal formulation, long term vision and philanthropy, all of which are parts of Gaia’s future.
“Having respected the Gaia Herbs brand for over two decades, it’s a tremendous honor to take this leadership role,” said McElwee. I believe deeply in what we do, and know that our products make a positive difference in people’s lives. My personal values and my professional passion are totally aligned, which makes it easy to love this work.” “The team at Gia has grown exponentially in number and skill over the years since I began, and they teach and challenge me daily. I’m extremely excited about what the future holds for our brand and for our people.”
Prior to joining Gaia, McElwee held sales leadership roles at Enzymatic Therapy for more than five years, culminating her tenure there as a Director of Sales.