Wayne Callahan joined Vestar in 2013 as a Senior Advisor focused on the Consumer Products sector. Previously, Wayne was President of Global Walmart Business at H. J. Heinz where he led high-performing teams serving Walmart worldwide. Wayne’s focus was organizational design, business planning, team development, and overall growth. As a member of Heinz President’s Council and Heinz Global Sales Council he also led customer business planning and best practice sharing for most of their largest global customers. Additionally, he was a board member of a Heinz joint venture in South Africa.

Wayne is a customer-centered champion and owns the “Student of the Customer” trademark.

Wayne created and leads the Vestar Consumer Products Share Group (VCP Share) as a resource for customer sales growth, engagement, and best practice discussions. Portfolio companies currently participating in VCP Share include Simple Mills, Nonnis, Dr. Praeger’s and Pet Honesty.

Wayne’s previous Vestar corporate board roles include Del Monte Foods, Big Heart Pet Brands, Sun Products, and Woodstream.

Outside Vestar, Wayne currently serves on the boards of Delta Dental of Arkansas, Arvest Bank and Erlen Corporation.

On a personal basis, Wayne is past President and current board member of the Arkansas State Golf Association, and current USGA National Committee member.

Wayne holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Communication from Concordia University, Mequon, Wisconsin, is a National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Board Leadership Fellow, and completed the Stanford Director’s College Executive Education Program.