Ajinomoto Foods North America (AFNA) has appointed Dave Gardner as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2026. Gardner, who most recently served as the Ontario, Calif.-based company's Chief Supply Chain Officer, takes over from Hiroshi Kaho — a transition that signals AFNA's intent to keep operational expertise at the top as it pursues its next growth chapter in specialty frozen foods. For foodservice operators, the leadership change matters because AFNA is a significant supplier of frozen Asian-inspired and specialty menu items found across restaurant, healthcare, and retail channels. Gardner's supply chain background suggests a continued emphasis on manufacturing reliability and product availability — factors that have been chronic pain points across the frozen category since the pandemic disrupted cold-chain logistics. Operators who depend on AFNA's portfolio for consistent back-of-house execution will want to monitor how the new CEO shapes procurement and distribution strategy in the months ahead. Kaho, who guided AFNA through what the company describes as a multi-year period of investment, capability building, and cultural transformation, has been elevated to Executive Officer and Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer at Tokyo-based parent Ajinomoto Co., Inc. The internal promotion reflects the parent company's confidence in AFNA's foundation while repositioning Kaho's organizational-change expertise at the global level. The appointment reflects a broader [trend in food manufacturing leadership](/food/industry-trends) toward promoting operations and supply chain executives into the top role — a recognition that margin management, ingredient sourcing, and production capacity have become as strategically critical as brand building. For [restaurant and hospitality procurement teams](/restaurants/supply-chain), understanding who leads key supplier organizations is increasingly part of vendor-risk management. AFNA, a subsidiary of Ajinomoto Co., Inc., positions itself as a designer of frozen foods for well-being, competing in a segment where health-forward claims and operational convenience both drive purchasing decisions. Coverage of the broader frozen and specialty ingredient market is tracked regularly by [Food & Beverage Magazine](https://fb101.com/?utm_source=rhfnews&utm_campaign=powered_by), AFNA's sister publication in the F&B Network. Written by Michael Politz, Author of [Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1)](https://www.amazon.com/Beverage-Magazines-Guide-Restaurant-Success/dp/1119668964), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.