The J.R. Simplot Co. has named Jas Krdzalic as vice president of business optimization and continuous improvement for its AgriBusiness Group.

He will join the company Feb. 24

Krdzalic will report directly for Simplot AgriBusiness President G. Rey Reinhardt and serve as a member of the Simplot AgriBusiness leadership team.

“We are excited to have Jas take on this critically important role for our company,” Reinhardt said in a news release.

Krdzalic has more than 20 years of experience in corporate strategy, business development and operational excellence, which “will serve us well in our continued efforts in operating as a customer-centric organization, rooted in phosphate expertise, while using technology and innovation to help feed the world,” Reinhardt said.

Prior to joining Simplot, Krdzalic served as digital marketplace general manager at Albertsons Cos., where he was integral to launching a new digital commerce platform along with leading development of the company’s market strategy roadmap, according to the release.

Krdzalic previously served as CEO of Bodybuilding.com and Vitalize LLC, a digital fitness platform and e-commerce business, where he led the chief-level executive team for the company. Earlier, he worked as senior director of strategic planning and business operations at Micron Technology, where he led business unit merger and acquisition activities and development of strategic planning processes.

He served on the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Salt Lake City branch board of directors, providing industry insights to the central bank leadership that helped influence monetary policy and impact on the national economy, according to Simplot.

“I’m very excited and grateful for this opportunity to join Simplot AgriBusiness,” Krdzalic said in the release. He plans to “make it my top priority to help identify opportunities that help put the company in the best position to successfully adapt to the market to serve our customers.”

A native of Bosnia, he spent the latter years of his childhood in Idaho. He earned a B.S. in marketing with a minor in finance from the University of Idaho and an MBA from Northwest Nazarene University.

Family-owned Simplot, based in Boise, is a global food and agriculture company with a portfolio that includes food processing and food brands, phosphate mining and fertilizer manufacturing as well as farming, ranching and cattle production, and other aspects of ag.