SECAUCUS, NJ. — Hartz, a leading pet care manufacturer, announced the appointment of Tina Le Lay as president and chief operating officer, and Dai Kageyama as vice president of marketing. According to the company, the new leadership appointments come on the heels of Hartz’s shift to focus on cats and dogs.
With its move, Hartz is no longer a one-stop shop for all pets; instead the company enhanced its focus on its signature dog and cat product portfolio. The move is backed by Hartz’s parent company Unicharm, a global CPG company based in Tokyo. Unicharm provided Hartz with innovation, technology and marketing support, allowing the brand to shift its portfolio to more premium products focused on dogs and cats.
Le Lay has been with Hartz for more than 17 years, previously leading the company’s marketing efforts for the cat treat, dog treat, animal health, hygiene and toy product categories. He most recently served as Hartz’s chief marketing officer, where he led the development of the “Unconditional Love” brand platform and national campaign that celebrated the rewards and challenges shared between pets and their owners .
“Hartz is almost 100 years old — there aren’t many brands in our history that remain relevant to the next generation,” Le Lay said. “Meta and TikTok are where younger pet parents prefer to spend their time, which prompted us to reevaluate how we approach our content. What does it mean to be truly social-first?
“I have had the honor of serving Hartz in a range of capacities for a long time,” he added. “The biggest lesson learned is that authenticity and insights must be at the core of everything we do. Our goal as we develop our products is always to please both pet parents and pets alike.”
Kageyama most recently served as senior director of marketing – cat treats at Hartz, leading marketing initiatives for the company’s Delectables brand. Under his leadership, Delectables grew to become the No. 1 brand of wet cat treats and No. 2 brands of overall cat treats, according to Hartz. Kageyama oversaw the company’s “Deliciously De-Lick-able Delectables” integrated campaign for the Squeeze Up and Lickable Treat sub-brands, which included trending clips on TikTok.
In his elevated role, Kageyama will oversee all Hartz categories while directly managing Delectables, where he will focus on driving the brand’s market share and expanding its reach.
“It is my mission to ensure that the sub-brands are uniquely developed and meaningfully connect back to the Delectables Masterbrand,” he said. “For the next year, our goal is to reach all cat parents and show them how they can treat and be with their cats better than ever. I’m especially looking forward to sharing our upcoming news and product innovations.”
In addition to the promotions of Le Lay and Kageyama, Hartz also promoted other leadership:
- Tatsuya Suto was promoted from president and chief executive officer to chairman and chief executive officer;
- Frank Cursi was promoted to executive vice president and chief financial officer;
- Shinji Fujita was promoted to senior vice president of operations;
- and Takeshi Ikegami was promoted to senior vice president of research and development and regulation.
“Tina and Dai were chosen for these positions because they understand not only today’s pet landscape, but also tomorrow’s pet landscape,” Suto said. “They have represented a positive change for the company and our brands, while maintaining our core values and commitment to serve pet parents with the best products and education to care for pets as members of the family. I am delighted to congratulate them on these well-deserved milestones.”
Read more about personnel changes throughout the industry.
