Irvine-based ChromaDex Corp. has tapped Jeffrey Himmel as chief executive officer.
ChromaDex makes ingredients for dietary supplements, cosmetics and other products from fruits and plants.
Former Chief Executive Frank Jaksch is now chief scientific officer and remains on the company’s board of directors.
Himmel is investing $1 million into ChromaDex in connection with his new post.
Himmel previously led the Himmel Group, a consumer-products marketer based in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. The company acquires and markets household brands with a focus on over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, nutritional food products and health aids.
Former Himmel brands include Gold Bond, which was sold to Chattem Inc. in 1996, and Ovaltine, which was sold to Novartis International A.G. in 2007.
Himmel also was a managing director of New York-based investment bank Rothschild Inc.
ChromaDex was one of the fastest-growing public companies based in Orange County last year with about $8 million in sales, a 60% increase from two years earlier, according to the Business Journal’s list.
ChromaDex’s ingredients primarily are based on patents licensed by universities and other research centers.
