Blue Buffalo Pet Products announced Thursday what it described as the planned departure of CEO Kurt Schmidt in January 2017, with co-founder Billy Bishop to step into the role and Schmidt under retention as a consultant for the balance of next year.
Blue Buffalo is based in Wilton and was founded in 2002 by Bishop, his father Bill and brother Chris after attempting to find wholesome food for a family dog named Blue afflicted with cancer. In the third quarter, pet food sales were up 11 percent from a year earlier to $288 million, with profits off 21 percent to $21.5 million.
Blue Buffalo calculated Schmidt’s compensation last year at $1.3 million, will Billy Bishop making $500,000 that year as president and chief operating officer. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with an MBA from the University of Chicago, Schmidt joined Blue Buffalo in 2012 having previously led Nestlé’s global health and wellness division that manages brands like Gerber, Jenny Craig and Power Bar.
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