Christopher "CJ" Fraleigh (born October 1, 1963) is an American food-industry executive. He is the Executive Chairman of an entity sponsored by private equity firm Kohlberg & Company to acquire the Sara Lee frozen bakery assets from Tyson Foods.[1] Fraleigh is the former chairman and CEO of Shearer's Foods.
After leaving university, Fraleigh started at PepsiCo in New York, where he worked to develop the 1 liter (33.814 us fl oz) 'Wide Mouth' bottle as a single serving bottle for the US market, first under Mountain Dew. After becoming the VP of Colas, Fraleigh left for General Motors in 2001 where he fought to relaunch the Cadillac brand, working with Led Zeppelin among others to ensure success. He has been credited with turning the brand around.[3] He also orchestrated with Oprah Winfrey the giveaway of a Pontiac G6 to all audience members at a taping of the Oprah Winfrey Show.[4]
After becoming the general manager of Pontiac, Buick, and GMC it was said that he, Bob Lutz, and Rick Wagner disagreed on the future direction of the brands, with Fraleigh suggesting that brands needed to be shuttered for the company to stay afloat. Disagreeing with the company, Fraleigh left GM for (now defunct) Downers Grove, Illinois-based Sara-Lee, where he oversaw North America with former PepsiCo colleague Brenda Barnes. While preparing to split the company in two, The Wall Street Journal widely reported of internal change in direction, with Fraleigh and the board agreeing to part ways.[5][6]
Assuming his current position, he partnered with Windpoint Partners to acquire Ohio-based Shearer's Foods in a bid to create the largest private label snack food manufacturer.[7] Fraleigh left Shearer's Foods in September 2017.
^"Ferrante-Fraleigh", Asbury Park Press, January 22, 1992. Accessed September 16, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Elena M. Ferrante and Christopher J. Fraleigh, New York, were married Oct 26 at St. Catharine's Roman Catholic Church. Parents of the bride are Joseph and Joan Ferrante, Red Bank.... The bridegroom graduated from Hackettstown High School; Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa., and received his master's degree from Columbia University, New York."
