Divert, Inc., a sustainable solutions company on a mission to solve the wasted food crisis and advance a circular economy, announced the expansion of its executive leadership team with the appointment of four new strategic hires鈥揂ndrew Johnston as vice president of industrials, Derek Spillane as vice president of IT, Frenchie Audette as vice president of food service, and Lee DeVasier as vice president of transportation and supply chain.
Johnston and Audette will spearhead strategy and revenue growth with the company鈥檚 industrials and food service customers. Spillane will oversee all aspects of business technology, focusing on IT solutions, data security, and digital operations. DeVasier will lead daily execution on transportation and managing the logistics of Divert鈥檚 supply chain.
鈥淲e鈥檙e deeply committed to hiring exceptional leaders with the expertise, knowledge, and agility needed to support us in this next stage of growth,鈥� said Ryan Begin, CEO and co-founder, Divert. 鈥淲ith the additions of Andrew, Derek, Frenchie, and Lee, we鈥檝e brought on valuable and diverse perspectives that will expand our food service and industrials business, strengthen IT operations, and optimize our transportation and logistics strategies.”
This momentum comes during a period of transformative growth for Divert, as the company continues scaling to 30 facilities by 2031 to meet increasing demand for its solutions to address the wasted food crisis. Divert has expanded its customer base significantly in the past year, now working with nearly 8,000 customer locations鈥搃ncluding grocery retailers, food manufacturers, distributors, and food service.
Andrew Johnston, VP of Industrials, brings over 15 years of commercial and technical experience from companies in all stages of growth. In his most recent roles, Johnston served as a strategic advisor to venture-funded and privately held technology companies in starting commercial activities and scaling efficiently. Notably, Johnston led the commercialization of the Trenton Renewables food waste anaerobic digestion facility, establishing its business development, sales, marketing and logistics organizations.
鈥淓liminating wasted food is among the most profound, tangible and immediate things we can do to reduce emissions, while creating a multitude of other societal and economic benefits,” said Johnston. 鈥淒ivert has already proven itself as a market leader in partnering across the food value chain at a remarkable scale and level of sophistication. I’m thrilled to join the team to expand our support of our industrial customers, creating novel solutions for a traditionally underserved group of stakeholders and ensuring no food goes to waste, even in the most complex environments.鈥�
Derek Spillane, VP of IT, has over 26 years of IT industry leadership and a proven track record in implementing solutions that optimize operations, foster collaboration, and drive transformational change. In his most recent role at Surgalign, Spillane led the global enterprise applications and IT operational teams, delivering innovative and scalable solutions.
鈥淚 am thrilled to join the Divert team and look forward to partnering across departments to drive the company鈥檚 continued growth and success,鈥� said Spillane. 鈥淟everaging my experience across a broad spectrum of IT roles, I鈥檓 eager to deliver meaningful business value for the company through enterprise IT systems and operational excellence.”
Frenchie Audette, VP of Food Service, brings nearly two decades of food service industry expertise to build impactful partnerships and strategies that align with the evolving needs of national restaurant brands. Audette has held key leadership roles across the industry, including with Local Kitchens, Square, Inc., and as a former restaurant owner. In his most recent role at Local Kitchens in San Francisco, California, Audette led the sales, partnerships, and markets teams, driving growth and expansion through streamlining partner and menu offerings, and signing and onboarding national partnerships.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited to join Divert because it uniquely combines my commitment to sustainability with my passion for supporting food service and restaurant operators,鈥� said Audette. 鈥淎t Divert, I have the opportunity to drive impactful solutions that not only address our wasted food crisis, but also enhance the operational efficiency and profitability of our partners in the food service industry.鈥�
Lee DeVasier, VP of Transportation and Supply Chain, brings nearly three decades of leadership in strategic engineering, steering large-scale operations and optimizing processes to drive revenue and continuous improvement. In his most recent role at Pitney Bowes, DeVasier was responsible for all aspects of the parcel network, facility placement, transportation design and execution, as well as the relationship with the United States Postal Service. His leadership resulted in record results for the organization across transportation spend reduction, increased service performance, and network speed. Previously, he spent nearly 28 years in a variety of roles with United Parcel Service (UPS), most recently leading efforts for the organization鈥檚 three largest customers focused on operational efficiency and profitability.
鈥淒ivert is filling a big gap in addressing the national wasted food crisis and I鈥檓 proud to join this effort to more effectively manage and mitigate unsold food products,鈥� said DeVasier. 鈥淚 look forward to leveraging my expertise in strategic planning, optimization, and people leadership to help Divert scale.鈥�