US bakery brand Levain Bakery has appointed Lorna Sommerville and Taya Stenson as Co-Chief Executive Officers, establishing a shared executive leadership model as the 30-year-old business expands its national retail and digital operations.
The dual appointment formalises a leadership structure combining commercial strategy, brand innovation, and operational infrastructure, following a period of sustained physical and e-commerce expansion for the enterprise.
Leadership and Backgrounds
Sommerville and Stenson bring a combined decade of internal operational experience at Levain Bakery, supported by senior executive careers across multinational food, beverage, and consumer packaged goods (CPG) enterprises.
Prior to joining Levain Bakery, Sommerville spent over two decades in brand strategy, managing brand-building and scaling initiatives at The Coca-Cola Company, Harry's, and Function of Beauty. At Levain, she has directed the company's marketing, menu innovation, and e-commerce growth strategies.
Stenson spent nearly two decades in operational leadership at Starbucks, rising to Managing Director of Roastery & Reserve stores with operational oversight across the United States, Wales, Italy, China, and Japan. At Levain, Stenson has overseen the development of the company's supply chain and retail operating infrastructure.
Operational Expansion
The executive leadership transition follows a period of retail scaling for the bakery group, which originated as a single storefront on Manhattan's Upper West Side in New York City.
Key commercial performance metrics and footprint parameters outlined by the enterprise include:
Top-Line Sales Growth: Quadrupled top-line revenue during the current leadership team's tenure.
Retail Footprint Expansion: Expanded from a Northeast regional presence to 19 bakery locations nationwide across the United States, with two additional sites currently in development.
E-Commerce Revenue Share: Built an online direct-to-consumer business that now accounts for 25 per cent of total enterprise sales.
Seasonal Menu Mix: Seasonal LTO product lines generate between 15 per cent and 20 per cent of total cookie sales depending on the trading period, complementing core ambient bakery lines.
Co-Founders Next Chapter
Company co-founders Pam Weekes and Connie McDonald expressed confidence in the transition, noting that Sommerville and Stenson bring the operational rigour and brand stewardship required to guide the enterprise through its next growth phase.
Lorna Sommerville stated that the co-CEO model leverages complementary operational strengths to preserve the company's craft heritage while scaling commercial platforms.
Taya Stenson added that the shared leadership framework will focus on maintaining operational quality, employee retention, and customer experience as the retail store footprint expands nationwide.
The co-CEO structure takes effect immediately across Levain Bakery's corporate operations, retail store network, and e-commerce supply chains.
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