ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:

Produce Marketing Association (PMA), Newark, Del.
Tony Parassio was promoted to chief operating officer. Parassio joined PMA in 2008, and during this time, he demonstrated unparalleled leadership with staff and members worldwide. He was instrumental in laying the strategic roadmap for creating and delivering value to PMA’s members around the globe, and played a key role in developing and implementing the association’s governance model, engaging more than 400 volunteer leaders from across the fresh produce and floral supply chains. Meanwhile, Margi Prueitt will assume the role of senior vice president while keeping her role as executive director of the PMA Foundation. Since 2010, she has been the catalyst for an ongoing spring-boarding of greater value and strategic vision for the PMA Foundation. For example, she was instrumental in leading the execution of successful programs such as the Emerging Leaders Program, Women’s Fresh Perspectives Conference, the growing portfolio of Career Pathways Programs and more.

International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses (IARW) and World Food Logistics Organization (WFLO), Alexandria, Va.
The education and research foundation affiliated with IARW elected new officers and board members. Doug Thomas, president and CEO of Bellingham Cold Storage Co., was elected the 2013-2014 chairman of the IARW board of directors. Other new officers were vice chairman Terry Brown (president, Diversified Port Holdings LLC) and treasurer Tom Poe (president, Crystal Distribution Services Inc.). New directors-at-large elected to serve 3-year terms include Luis Jorba (Frialsa Frigorificos) and Brian Kyle (Burris Logistics). Janice Scott (Commercial Cold Storage) was elected to represent the North Pacific Chapter and Barry Smith (Nova Cold Storage) was elected to represent the North Atlantic Chapter. Derk Van Mackelenbergh (Eurofrigo) was elected to represent the European Cold Storage and Logistics Association on the board.
     Bill Hendricksen, chief executive officer of Lineage Logistics, was elected 2013-2014 chairman of WFLO board of governors. Other new WFLO officers include vice chairman Frank Plant (manager of San Diego Refrigerated Services, Inc.) and Greg Brandt (president and CEO, Nor-Am Cold Storage, Inc.). New board members elected to serve 3-year terms on the WFLO board include Mike Bolander (Columbia Colstor), Paul Henningsen (Henningsen Cold Storage), Steve Tippmann (Interstate Warehousing) and Lourens de Waal (Commercial Cold Storage Group). Fabio Fonseca (Friozem Armazens Frigorificos) was re-elected to a 3-year term on the WFLO board. In addition, Dr. Mike Jahncke was appointed the new chairman of the WFLO Scientific Advisory Council (SAC), replacing Dr. Daryl Lund, who was announced his retirement from chairman of the SAC, a position he held for 25 years.

International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C.
Elizabeth Cookson was named senior director of meetings and educational services, responsible for overseeing all aspects of event planning, including the annual Dairy Forum and a variety of technical conferences, smaller training sessions, webinars and industry publications. With 14 years of event planning experience, Cookson has directed program coordination, logistical operations and marketing for conventions, conferences and other events for both associations and corporations. She joined IDFA after seven years of service with the Grocery Manufacturers Association, where she was the director of business planning and program development.

U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, Tucker, Ga.
Gwen Venable was promoted to vice president of communications, responsible for the association’s comprehensive communications program, including news releases, social media, News & Views quarterly print newsletter and the daily electronic USPOULTRYWire newsletter. She also directs the strategic marketing and promotion for all of the organization’s industry services and events, including seminars and conferences, research and the annual International Production & Processing Expo.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS:

The J. M. Smucker Co., Orville, Ohio
Robert Heisler, Jr. was nominated director, replacing William Steinbrink, who has served as a director of the company since 1994, and who will be retiring from the board at the end of his term. Steinbrink, will, however, provide consulting services to the chief executive officer and the chairman of the board.

Performance Food Group, Richmond, Va.
Jim Spatola was named senior vice president of procurement, responsible for improving processes to better serve customers while enhancing the company’s competitive position and profitability. Meanwhile, Jeff Williamson was appointed senior vice president of operations, responsible for overseeing facilities, construction, inbound logistics, outbound transportation and warehouse functions.

Day-Lee Foods, Inc., subsidiary of Nippon Meat Packers, Inc., Los Angeles
Mike Keeland was named general manager of the processed foods division, responsible for leading all day-to-day operations, business strategy and sales management. Prior to joining Day-Lee Foods, Keeland served in leadership positions at Real Mex Foods and Annie Chun’s, and held sales and marketing roles at Pinnacle Foods and Campbell Soup Co. David Weinberg was appointed marketing director, responsible for spearheading all communications and marketing strategy, new product development and growth initiatives. And, Gus Lopez was named director of logistics, responsible for overseeing the shipping and storage of all products.

FOODSERVICE:

Così, Inc., Deerfield, Ill.
Stephen Edwards, president and CEO, was appointed executive chairman of the board, following the resignation of Carin Stutz, who resigned effective immediately to pursue other opportunities. Edwards will lead Così's efforts to evaluate its existing portfolio of restaurants to identify re-franchising opportunities with new and existing franchisees as part of its overall effort to accelerate franchise growth.

SUPPLIERS:

PaperWorks Industries, Inc., Philadelphia
J. Joseph Moynihan was appointed executive vice president, packaging group, responsible for all packaging operations in Canada, the United States and Mexico. Since 2006, Moynihan has been the chief executive officer for the North American packaging operations of the Clondalkin Group.

Toyota Material Handling U.S.A., Inc., Irvine, Calif.
Tracy Stachniak was named national manager of human resources, responsible for the overall department of human resources and managing organizational change, including workforce planning and talent acquisition.

Seegrid Corp., Pittsburgh
Suzanne Love was named human resource administrator, responsible for managing all aspects of human resources, including benefits administration for medical, dental, vision and voluntary plans, as well as recruitment, on-boarding for new hires and processing payroll for hourly and salary employees.

Kendall Packaging Corp., Mequon, Wis.
Tom Coffman joined as area sales manager, responsible for selling the company’s products, developing and securing new customers and overseeing customer service. New to the customer focus team is Tonya Becker, as customer service representative, responsible for determining and communicating customers’ needs to all involved personnel and outside vendors. These new hires come on the heels of the announcement of the plant expansion at the Jefferson, Wis., facility. 

MTC Logistics, Baltimore, Md.
Harry Halpert was appointed chief executive officer of HHI and will be chairman of MTC Logistics, responsible for overseeing management of HHI and focus on expanding its investment portfolio. For the past 13 years, Halpert served as president of MTC Logistics, where he expanded their footprint into Delaware and most recently built a state-of-the-art refrigerated distribution center at the Port of Baltimore, Md. As a result, F. Brooks Royster III was named president. For the past six years, Royster served as vice president, overseeing the construction of MTC Logistics’ Port of Baltimore distribution center and working to expand the company’s international footprint. Royster has more than 35 years of experience in the maritime industry in both the public and private sectors. Kenneth Johnson was appointed senior vice president, operations, responsible for distribution center operations and customer service.

Henningsen Cold Storage Co., Hillsboro, Ore.
James Denmark was named general manager of the two Portland, Ore., warehouse operations, responsible for directing the day-to-day operations, comprising more than 9 million total cubic feet and more than 30,000 pallet positions. Most recently, he served 16 years with Americold, where he was the Southeast division region rail manager.

Akro-Mils, a Myers Industries, Inc. company, Akron, Ohio
Mike Iafigliola was named new product development manager, responsible for driving revenue growth through development, implementation and execution of new products and innovation initiatives. Prior to joining Akro-Mils, Iafigliola was commercialization and marketing project manager at MTD Products Inc.

BLACOH Fluid Control, Inc., Riverside, Calif.
Alfredo D’Souza was named business development manager for sales regions serving Canada, the Middle East and India. D’Souza was most recently with RathGibson, where he served as director of business development for Eastern Europe, Africa, Middle East, India and Central Asia. James Burke was named director of engineering. He joins BLACOH from JWC Environmental, where he was product team manager and project manager, leading the inside sales and engineering team responsible for a line of municipal screening and dewatering equipment.

Stellar, Jacksonville, Fla.
Jeffrey Williams was named senior process engineer. Williams brings more than three decades of experience in the food industry, including a specialization in meat processing and equipment. He also holds several patents for equipment design, processing and packaging. Jim Kollock was appointed senior electrical engineer. Kollock has 23 years of experience in engineering, design, project management, programming and HMI equipment. Justin Landowski was named civil engineer, responsible for site design, utilities and stormwater management and obtaining permits for his projects. Marcus Medlock was hired as architectural designer, responsible for overseeing architectural drafting and project coordination while paying close attention to quality assurance.

The Suddath Cos., Jacksonville, Fla.
David Cox was appointed senior vice president of corporate strategy and quality assurance, responsible for guiding the company through short- and long-term improvements in operations, customer service, technology and integrated services. Cox has spent the last 17 years working in the transportation industry, and has held multiple key leadership positions in operations, administration, sales, quality and both general and regional executive management.

Americold, Atlanta
Todd Sheldon was named executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. Prior to joining Americold, Sheldon served as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of SUPERVALU Inc., and served as chief legal officer, responsible for leading the legal, regulatory, risk and compliance functions for the company.