Coca-Cola veteran to take top spot at Honey Baked Ham Company

The Honey Baked Ham Company has named a new chief executive.

The company named Jim Dinkins as CEO, effective May 10. He succeeds Linda van Rees, who took the reins in 2018 following the resignation of Linda Heasley, who left to become CEO of J. Jill. van Rees, who will remain a board member, is the granddaughter of the founder of Honey Banked Ham. 

Dinkins joins Honey Baked Ham from The Coca-Cola Company, where he gained diverse experience working in a variety of areas. Prior to his retirement announcement in August 2020, Dinkins served as president, Coca-Cola North America. Before joining Coca-Cola in 1988, Dinkins held various sales positions with Procter and Gamble. 

“Jim's holistic view of the food industry, highly regarded leadership and deep experience in operations makes us confident that he's the right person to lead our company through this next chapter," said van Rees.

Founded in 1957, Honey Baked Ham Company operates more than 436 stores nationwide, as well as a direct-to-consumer site.