CENTA News & Events

Central Garden & Pet Company announced the appointment of Apur Patel as Chief Legal Officer, effective January 26. Patel succeeds George Yuhas, who will retire from the company. In this role, Patel will oversee all legal matters for Central, including corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, securities and compliance, litigation, intellectual property, and enterprise risk management. He will report directly to Niko Lahanas, CEO of Central Garden & Pet. Patel is a senior in-house legal executive with more than 30 years of global experience across consumer packaged goods, technology, and healthcare. He joins Central from The Clorox Company, where he most recently served as Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, leading a team of more than 20 attorneys and paralegals and overseeing Intellectual Property, Commercial and Technology Transactions, Licensing, and Marketing Communications and Advertising. Earlier in his career, Mr. Patel held senior legal roles at Cisco, Cargill, and UnitedHealth Group, supporting complex global businesses and leading cross-functional initiatives. He is widely respected for his executive presence, strong business acumen, and ability to build and lead high-performing legal teams. Patel holds a Juris Doctor degree from Washington and Lee University School of Law and a bachelor's degree from Colgate University.

Central Garden & Pet announced that it has acquired the U.S. assets of Champion USA, a cattle fly-control company. Under the agreement, Champion USA's employees join Central's Professional business unit, where product quality, customer service, and nationwide distribution will remain a priority. The transaction closed on December 12. Central will provide additional details on the acquisition during its first quarter earnings call in February.