Our Leadership Team
Our leadership team works closely together to make sure that Bel values come first. They join us from a variety of backgrounds, cultures, and professional experiences, and they collectively approach strategy and operations with corporate social responsibility in top of mind.
Ivan Giraud
North America CEO – Group Bel
Ivan Giraud joined Bel Brands USA as Chief Executive Officer in January 2022. Ivan is also the General Manager of Materne USA and has acted in this role since 2018. He will remain in this position at Materne with the additional duties as US business lead for Bel USA.
Ivan joined Materne USA in 2017 leading Category and Revenue Development before being promoted to General Manager in June 2018. He also has previous career experience with Nestle, Heinz and JDE coffee. Ivan has over 28 years of experience in food companies.
From a leadership perspective, Ivan’s values are rooted in continually learning and growing, remaining humble through hard work and staying optimistic. Ivan is a husband and proud father of three boys and his hobbies include cooking and running.
Carolina Cespedes Virguez
General Manager - GoGo squeeZ
Negar Sedghi
General Manager - Bel Brands USA
In 2014, Negar joined Bel as Marketing Director for Iran and Turkey. By July 2018, she was General Manager of Bel Iran, leading an organization of 500 members and achieving 60% business growth and profitability. In 2022, she became General Manager of The Laughing Cow globally, a $600M business in 136 countries. By June 2023, she was appointed General Manager of Bel Brands USA, managing a $500M business focused on championing healthier and sustainable food.
Decorated as an “Officer” in the French National Order of Merit, Negar has served as a Foreign Trade Advisor to the French Government and has been on the board of the Bel Foundation since 2022. She is passionate about purposeful business leadership, integrative thinking, change management, and innovation.
Carole Larson
Chief Financial Officer - GoGo squeeZ
Jaime Lewis
Chief Financial Officer - Bel Brands USA
Jaime Lewis serves as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Bel Brands USA (BBUSA). In this role, she provides leadership, guidance and overall management of the Finance and Accounting departments. With over 20 years of experience, Jaime is an industry leader, with ongoing success delivering revenue, profit and market share objectives, while maintaining sound financial controls and business processes. She builds strong cross functional partnerships across organizations and works to advance a strategic financial agenda, while maintaining a flexible and collaborative approach. She has broad finance expertise across financial planning, revenue and cost management in large corporate and private equity environments.
Prior to joining BBUSA, she served as the senior vice president of finance at ATI Physical Therapy and served as a financial leader at PepsiCo. Jaime holds degrees in Accounting and Finance from DePaul University. In her spare time, Jaime enjoys being active outdoors, cooking, traveling and spending time with her husband and three kids.
Anne-Laure Serrano
Chief Human Resources Officer – Bel Brands US
With nearly 20 years of human resources experience, Anne-Laure Serrano has led organizational and cultural transformations that drove exceptional growth and business results. Her initiatives have built high-performing teams, earning Great Place to Work and B-Corp certifications.
Anne-Laure champions trust-based leadership rooted in the Trust Equation, emphasizing credibility, reliability, intimacy, and minimizing self-interest. Authenticity, transparency, and integrity define her leadership style.
Her high positive energy is her superpower, driving performance and transformation in dynamic environments, and agility is key in her approach. Anne-Laure creates environments where individuals and teams feel belonging and are empowered to reach their fullest potential.
She holds a master’s degree in business administration and human resources from Burgundy School of Business.
Marc Panvier
Senior Vice President, Operations - Bel US
Paloma Lopez
Chief Sustainability and Communications Officer – Bel US
Paloma Lopez joined Bel in March 2024 as the Chief Sustainability and Communications Officer for Bel US, where she leads the Impact, Trust, and Ethics team, encompassing Sustainability, Communications, Legal, and Regulatory functions. She drives Bel’s US Mission of Purpose*Full Snacking, aiming to improve the diets of Americans lacking essential fruit, veggies, and dairy.
With over 20 years of global experience in the food and CPG industry, Paloma has led initiatives and strategies that create economic, social, and environmental value at Fortune 500 companies and startups. She has successfully launched purpose-led brands and designed global sustainability programs.
Recognized as a Global Sustainability Women Leader by Forbes, Paloma is a First Movers Fellow at Aspen Institute and serves on their External Advisory Board. She has been involved with various organizations promoting sustainable food systems, including Naturally Colorado, Unreasonable Group, University of Cambridge, and USC. Paloma holds M.S. degrees in Sustainability Leadership and International Business.