Litehouse Inc., the Sandpoint, Idaho-based dressing and consumer packaged goods company, has named longtime company executive Kelly Prior as its new president.

Prior also will join the Litehouse board of directors, according to a press release issued by the company.

Litehouse representatives couldn’t be reached immediately.

Allen Wright, vice chairman of the Litehouse board of directors, says in the release, “Kelly is a proven leader with business vision and a unique ability to bring people together. We are excited to watch Litehouse continue to innovate while maintaining its quality … under Kelly’s leadership.”

Prior had served as interim president since former CEO and President Jim Frank retired last year. He also held the chief financial officer position while serving in the interim role. 

Before that, Prior had been named executive vice president in 2010.

He was instrumental in helping Litehouse transition to a 100 percent employee-owned company from what started out as a family-owned business, the company says in the release. Prior also helped grow Litehouse across all business channels through strategic investments in facilities and equipment, the company says.

Prior says in the release, “I am extremely excited to work closely with our team to continue setting the bar for the consumer packaged goods industry and writing the next chapter in our company’s rich history.”

Litehouse boasts that it’s the top-selling refrigerated salad dressing brand in the U.S. and Canada combined.

The 56-year-old company, which began solely as a bleu cheese salad dressing maker, now sells dozens of dressing flavors and also makes cheeses, dips, cider, and herbs.