Executive Team

Brad Anderson is the President and CEO of California Dairies, Inc. (CDI). Stepping into the CEO position on January 1, 2020, Brad brings more than 26 years of leadership experience to the role. Previously, Brad held the position of CDI’s Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining CDI, he was the Senior Vice President and Chief Sales Officer at Dean Foods, the largest fluid milk processor in the U.S. During his tenure at Dean Foods, Brad was active in the dairy industry and served on the MilkPEP Board for six years in total and Chairman of the Board for the last two years. Brad’s career began at Earthgrains and progressed to Pepsi Bottling Group, Sara Lee Corporation and Dean Foods before joining CDI in September 2018.Brad currently serves as a Board Chairman of Challenge Dairy Products, Inc., Board Member of the American Dairy Products Institute, DairyAmerica, US Dairy Export Council and the International Dairy Foods Association Ingredient Board. Brad earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Georgia.

Rob Vandenheuvel joined executive leadership team at CDI in January 2017 as the senior vice president of member and industry relations. Rob serves as the face of CDI to the industry, governmental and regulatory bodies, and works directly with the member-owners of the cooperative. Before joining the team at CDI, Rob had previously served as the general manager for the Milk Producers Council (MPC) since 2007. Prior to his tenure at the trade association, he was a press secretary for the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee in Washington D.C., under the chairmanship of Rep. Bill Thomas (R-CA). Rob holds a Bachelor Arts degree in accounting from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Rob grew up on his family’s dairy farm in Chino, California. He and his wife Carrie Ann, have three children, daughters Reagan and Annistyn, and son Cash.

Shawn Athay joined CDI in October 2020 as its Senior Vice President of Human Resources bringing more than 20 years of HR and dairy experience to the role.Prior to joining CDI, Shawn was the Vice President of Human Capital for Agropur in Appleton, Wisconsin. He has also served as Human Resources Vice President at the J.R. Simplot Company and at Glanbia. Shawn is a strong believer in the power of positive thinking and brings a passion for wellness, standardization, efficiency, teamwork and, what he calls, the HIRT Principle: Honesty, Integrity, Respect and Trust. Integrating HR metrics and having a key focus on leadership development will be focal points for him and his team going forward.He is an avid football fan at the high school, college, and professional levels, and he is fiercely loyal to his college alma mater, Boise State University, where he received his bachelor’s degree in Industrial Relations Management.