GNC Promotes Rachel Jones to Chief Product Science and Innovation Officer
Health and wellness retailer GNC, known for its private label and retailer-exclusive brands, has announced the promotion of Rachel Jones, MS, RDN, to the role of senior vice president and chief product innovation and science officer.
A nearly 20-year veteran at the company, Jones will oversee a group of 40 associates that develop GNC products, while also partnering nationally with recognized researchers, scientists, toxicologists, statisticians and universities. The retailer said that Jones will innovate across four areas: product design and development, product brand strategy, scientific affairs and innovations.
"Rachel is one of the most influential leaders at GNC. Her role naturally lends itself to cross-disciplinary collaboration, but her team-first mentality enables us to achieve our goals and build community," said Karlyn Mattson, EVP, chief merchandising officer at GNC. "Elevating her into this position creates an even deeper connection between our products, consumers, and business strategy to help more people Live Well. We know Rachel is the right person for this role at such an important inflection point in our business and are proud to call her part of the GNC team."
Jones joined GNC in 2004 as a project manager in the Innovation, Research and Development team. Over the course of more than 12 years in that department she contributed to or led the development of more than 2,000 GNC brand products. After working on GNC’ s international projects for five years, Jones moved into leadership roles at the company.
She has also served on the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Advisory Board and was previously recognized as Young Dietitian of the Year by the Pennsylvania Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
"I'm excited to tackle the opportunities that exist for GNC as a business today and set us up for continued success in the future," Jones said. "We continue to identify new products and opportunities to deliver on our mission of Living Well through industry-leading products and ingredients that help our consumers achieve their goals."