ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:

International Dairy Foods Association, Washington, D.C.
Cary Frye, IDFA vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs, was elected to the International Dairy Federation’s board of directors. She will fill the vacancy left by Jeremy Hill, director of research, science, technology and development for Fonterra Cooperative Group, who was elected IDF president. Frye is the only representative from North America currently serving on the IDF board.

National Ice Cream Retailers Association, Elk Grove Village, Ill.
Elected as president of the association was David Zimmermann of Royal Scoop Homemade Ice Cream, while Nanette Frey of Frey’s Tasty Treats was elected as president elect. Carl Chaney, Chaney’s Dairy Barn, was elected vice president, while Todd Truax, Almost Heaven, was elected as secretary/treasurer. Dan Messer, Eskamoe’s Frozen Custard & More, becomes immediate past president. Elected to the board of directors for three-year terms were Cliff Freund, Cliff’s Dairy Maid; Vince Giordano, Sno Top Ltd., and Juergen Kloo, Joy Cone Co.

American Transportation Research Institute, Arlington, Va.
The board of directors appointed 17 new members to its Research Advisory Committee. Steve Niswander, vice president of safety, policy and regulatory relations for Groendyke Transport, was named chairman of the 2013-2014 term. Other newly appointed members include Duane Acklie, Crete Carrier Corp.; Chris McLoughlin, C.H. Robinson; Kirk Altrichter, Gordon Trucking, Inc.; Robert Moseley, Jr., Smith Moore Leatherwood; Andrew Boyle, Boyle Transportation; Scott Mugno, FedEx Ground; Michael Conyngham, International Brotherhood of Teamsters; Vidya Mysore, Florida Department of Transportation; John Freeman, Pilot Travel Centers; Richard Plewacki, Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Arnoff; Matt Hart, Illinois Trucking Association; Webb Shaw, J.J. Keller & Associates; Sanford Hodes, Ryder System, Inc.; Frank Southworth, Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Keith Klingenberg, Wells Fargo Insurance Services USA; Keith Tuttle, Motor Carrier Services, Inc.; Michael Kray, Atlanta Regional Commission; Randy Boyles, Peoplenet.

U.S. Meat Export Federation, Denver, Colo.
New executive committee members were named for three-year terms. Mark Boyd, director of export sales for Porky Products, will represent the purveying/trading sector; Mark Gustafson, vice president of international sales for JBS USA, will represent the packing/processing sector; and Kevin Kester, a fifth-generation rancher from Parkfield, Calif., will represent the beef/veal producing and feeding sector.

Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, Centennial, Colo.
Newly appointed members representing cattle producers are Barbara Jackson, Arizona; Tom Parks, DVM, Colo.; Cynthia Greiman and Dean Black, Iowa; Daniel Herrmann and Larry Oltjen, Kansas; Genevieve Lyons, Louisiana; Andrew Salinas, Michigan; Theodor Reichmann, Minnesota; David McCormick, Mississippi; Kevin Frankenbach, Missouri; Judith Reece and Joan Ruskamp, Nebraska; Tamara Ogilvie, New Mexico; Jane Clifford, Northeast Unit; Ernest Harris, North Carolina; Brett Morris, Oklahoma; Danni Beer and Linda Gilbert, South Dakota; Craig Kesler, Southeast Unit; Darrell Sweet and Annalynn Settelmeyer, Southwest Unit; Larry Pratt, Dave Edmiston, Bruce Dopslauf and Charles Risinger, M.D., Texas; Laurie Munns, Utah; Randall Geiger, Martin Andersen and Lloyd De Ruyter, Wisconsin; and Spencer Ellis, Wyoming. Newly appointed members representing importers are John O’Carroll and Bradley Busse.

Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Madison, Wis.
Richard Marston was named regional marketing manager for the northeast territory, responsible for working with leading cheese and food retailers, distributors and brokers to promote and market Wisconsin cheese in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Maine and Rhode Island.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS:

McDonald's Corp., Oak Brook, Ill.
Jeff Stratton, currently global chief restaurant officer, will succeed Jan Fields as president of McDonald's USA, effective Dec. 1. Stratton will be responsible for overseeing the function of nearly 34,000 McDonald's restaurants globally, focusing in areas such as innovation, concept and design, operations, training, performance and security.

La Terra Fina, Inc., Union City, Calif.
Dan Howell joins as director of new product development, responsible for leading product development and innovation. During his more than 20 years in the food industry, Howell has helped develop a vast array of products, including beverages, soups, sauces, entrees and baked goods. Most recently, he helped create a line of frozen Asian appetizers and entrees at Windsor Foods. Stephanie Robbins was named director of brand development, responsible for leading marketing and re-branding efforts. Robbins has nearly 15 years of expertise in food marketing, including building the marketing department for Pamela’s Products from the ground up and driving marketing efforts that led to six times revenue growth. Lastly, Brian Slavin was appointed director of logistics. Slavin will apply his 25 years of management experience in the food and beverage industry, including production management roles with Coca Cola and National Beverages, to his role. He has spent the last 16 years in logistics/supply chain management positions in the natural grocery space, at companies such as Nancy’s Specialty Foods, Kikkoman International and Stonyfield Farms.

Ahold USA, Carlisle, Pa.
James McCann was appointed chief operating officer, effective Feb. 1, 2013. He will be taking over the role from Carl Schlicker, who announced his retirement. McCann will continue as a member of the corporate executive board.

SUPPLIERS:

Hanson Logistics, St. Joseph, Mich.
Chris Hughes, founder and principal of Sherborn Ventures, LLC, and Bob Koerner, former president of Power Logistics and Power Packaging, were named to the board of directors. Hughes has 23 years of strategic, operational and growth-based supply chain management experience across a variety of industries, having previously served as executive vice president of business development at Americold Logistics and senior director of global supply chain and U.S. logistics at Avon Products. Koerner has more than 35 years of experience in the logistics industry. He founded The ProSource Group in 1998, which he later sold to Total Logistics Control and then became CEO of TLC.

Arpac, Schiller Park, Ill.
John Moran joins as western regional sales director, responsible for the regional territory, including Washington, Montana, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Western Louisiana, Hawaii and Alaska. Western Canada will include Yukon, Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Meanwhile, James Barbone was promoted to eastern regional sales director, with a regional territory including Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, West Virginia and Massachusetts. Eastern Canada will include Nunavut, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

Wildeck, Inc., Waukesha, Wis.
Noel Neris was named lean leader for the company’s North American operations, responsible for the implementation of lean strategies, coordination of Kaizen events, lean training, developing key metrics for lean deployment and streamlining company procedures and processes to reduce cycle times and improve workflow. Neris has a solid background in the implementation of “lean” tools and data analysis and is Green Belt Six Sigma-certified.

Fristam Pumps USA, Middleton, Wis.
Zach Suardini joined as an application engineer, responsible for providing in-house and in-field technical support and customer service.