Universal Corporation announced the appointment of Arthur J. Schick, Jr., retired Vice President of Proprietary Flavors within the Beverage Concentrate Division of PepsiCo Inc., to the Company's Board of Directors. Mr. Schick's appointment is effective April 1, 2023, at which time the Board will expand to nine directors, eight of whom are independent. Mr. Schick is a 35-year veteran of PepsiCo Inc., a $79 billion global leader and publicly traded food and beverage company.

While at PepsiCo, he served his last 17 years as the Vice President of Proprietary Flavors within the Beverage Concentrate Division. In that role, Mr. Schick led PepsiCo's organization that manufactured all proprietary flavors for the company's global beverage brands, and led the global sourcing strategies and supply chain management for the organization. Mr. Schick also spent over a decade as a contributing board member for the Flavor Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA), the premier national association of the U.S. flavor industry, serving as FEMA's President in 2013.

FEMA supports the industry in flavor ingredient safety and in regulatory and legislative guidance and advocacy. It is comprised of flavor manufacturers, flavor users, flavor ingredient suppliers, and others with an interest in the U.S. flavor industry. Mr. Schick currently serves as President of Alpha Sierra Global, LLC, a company providing strategic and operational consulting to companies focused on consumer products, flavor compounding and ingredients.

Throughout his distinguished career, Mr. Schick has a proven track record of delivering high-level operating performance across global manufacturing sites and demonstrating expertise in international supplier development and supply chain management.