Townend, who joined the company on July 11 2016, will report to chief operating officer Martyn Fletcher.
He will work with the commercial and operation teams to support 2 Sisters’ growth plans and keep operating standards high at the firm’s factories.
“We are delighted to welcome Nick to 2 Sisters Food Group,” said Fletcher.
“He will play an important part in the smooth running of the group, providing a stream of communication between the commercial and operation teams.
‘Implemented to its maximum’
“It is essential that we have a strong team who can ensure that every step of the investment chain is effective and implemented to its maximum.”
2 Sisters said Townend would bring wide experience to the role, having held manufacturing, operations and research and development roles in Nestlé.
He had also held performance improvement, strategy, category management roles within Sainsbury.
His last role with Sainsbury was as head of commercial on the joint venture between the company and Netto.
Townend’s appointment was the third senior appointment made by 2 Sisters this year.
Third senior appointment
The company appointed Fletcher to the newly created chief operating officer role, with responsibility for running the firm’s UK manufacturing sites, in April.
His appointment followed the promotion of Jonathan Russell to director of group procurement, responsible for the manufacturer’s £1.5bn a year purchasing budget and for managing its supply chain in March.
Meanwhile, to see all the latest appointments in the food and drink sector, check out our people on the move photo gallery.
Featured in our latest selection are Coca-Cola European Partners’ vice-president taking the role of vice-president at grocery think-tank IGD, while a reshuffle of government positions saw Greg Clark named business secretary.