Dean Foods Company has named Jeff Dawson as its senior vice president, chief accounting officer, effective Jan. 28. Dawson replaces Scott Vopni , who left the company to pursue other opportunities.

In this capacity, Dawson will be responsible for enterprise-wide accounting operations, including internal and external financial reporting, and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. Dawson will report to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Jody Macedonio.

Dawson brings more than 25 years of accounting and finance experience to Dean Foods. Most recently, Dawson served as chief accounting officer, North America for Nokia Oy (formerly Alcatel-Lucent). Prior to this, he held senior financial positions with The Black & Decker Corporation and pulp and paper company Georgia-Pacific. Dawson's career also includes financial work with Velocita, a motorsports apparel manufacturer. Dawson began his career with Deloitte & Touche.