Management
Mr. Christensen co-founded PetIQ in 2010 and has served as our Chief Executive Officer since our inception and is a member of our board of directors. In 2015, Mr. Christensen was named Chairman of our board of directors. In addition to his leadership responsibilities as Chairman and CEO, Mr. Christensen’s expertise in retail and consumer products has enabled PetIQ to deliver targeted and well executed commercial programs and products across the retail industry. Prior to founding PetIQ, Mr. Christensen gained extensive retail and management experience working at Albertson’s and as an executive in consumer product companies selling to leading U.S. retailers. Mr. Christensen holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Boise State University.
Mr. Newland has served as our Chief Financial Officer since 2014 and as our Corporate Secretary since 2015. Since joining PetIQ, Mr. Newland facilitated the move from a regional auditor to KPMG, implemented enhanced control systems and standards across the company and upgraded our finance and operations organizations. Prior to joining PetIQ, Mr. Newland gained extensive retail and consumer products experience working for Albertson’s and SuperValu in a range of finance roles. Mr. Newland is a retired fighter pilot and Commander in the Idaho Air National Guard, where he served from 1985 to 2013. Mr. Newland holds a Bachelor of Science degree in corporate finance from the University of Idaho and is a graduate of the United States Air Force Air War College.
Ms. Sholtis joined PetIQ as our President in October 2018. Most recently, she served as a Global Marketing Head in the Health Division at Reckitt Benckiser from 2017 until her appointment as President of PetIQ in September 2018; previously Ms. Sholtis served on PetIQ’s board of directors from March 2018 until September 2018. From 2016 to 2017, Ms. Sholtis served as Head of North America Commercial Operations at Merial and was responsible for transitioning North America operations to Merial’s new owner, Boehringer Ingelheim. Prior to that, from 2006 to 2016, Ms. Sholtis served in a number of positions at Mead Johnson Nutrition, most recently as Head of Global Marketing. Previously, Ms. Sholtis also spent eight years at Merial beginning in 1996 where she most recently had global responsibility for managing two of the largest brands in animal healthcare, FRONTLINE® and HEARTGARD®. Ms. Sholtis earned a Bachelor’s degree from Butler University and a Masters of Business Administration from Emory University.
Mr. Smith joined PetIQ in May of 2019 as our Executive Vice President for the Product Division. Prior to joining PetIQ, he spent nine years in various leadership roles across the Consumables Merchandising Division at Walmart Inc., culminating with a four year tenure as Senior Director in the Pet Department. Prior to joining Walmart, Mr. Smith spent 10 years in the consumer goods industry with Procter & Gamble and Gillette, where he held a variety of roles across sales, finance and logistics. Mr. Smith earned a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Supply Chain Management from the University of Arkansas.
Mr. Herrman began representing PetIQ in 2019 and has practiced law for more than 20 years within the life sciences industry. Prior to joining PetIQ, he spent 16 years at Boehringer Ingelheim with 12 years in its Animal Health business. Since Mr. Herrman joined Boehringer Ingelheim's Animal Health business in 2007, it grew from the 10th largest global biological and pharmaceutical animal health company to the second largest in the world. Mr. Herrman most recently served as Head of Legal for Boehringer Ingelheim’s Latin America Animal Health region since 2017 and prior to that as the Head of Legal in the United States Animal Health business since 2007. During his time with Boehringer Ingelheim he has been a key contributor to numerous mergers, acquisitions and divestiture activities, which were transformative to its Animal Health business. Mr. Herrman served in leadership roles for the acquisition of a substantial portion of the Fort Dodge® Animal Health assets from Pfizer®, Inc./Zoetis®, Inc., more than doubling the size of the Animal Health business in 2009 and the acquisition of Merial®, Inc. from Sanofi in 2017.
Dr. Olavessen joined PetIQ as our Chief Medical Officer in February 2020. Most recently, she served as senior medical director of IDEXX’s Companion Animal Medical Organization where she led a team of veterinarians and professionals in medical affairs, medical outreach and medical research support. She began her career as a practicing veterinarian focused on small animal medicine in 2002 until transitioning to industry in 2007. Dr. Olavessen holds a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, serves on the board of directors for the Veterinary Leadership Institute (VLI) and has been recognized with several educational and professional awards.