ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:

American Meat Institute (AMI), Chicago
Elected to the chairmanship for 2013-2014 is Greg Benedict, president and COO of American Foods Group, LLC. Benedict has been in the industry for more than 30 years. David McDonald, president of OSI Group, LLC, was elected to serve as the vice-chair. Gary Jacobson, chief operating officer of Indiana Packers Corp., will serve as the treasurer. Mike Townsley, president of Bob Evans Farms Food Products Division, is a new incoming officer and will serve as secretary. J. Patrick Boyle was re-elected to serve as the institute’s president and CEO through January 2014, and current AMI executive vice president James Hodges was elected to serve as interim president and CEO, effective Feb. 1, 2014. The new directors who will serve a 3-year term include Sara Lilygren, executive vice president, corporate affairs, Tyson Foods, Inc.; Andre Nogueira, chief executive officer, JBS USA; John Richardson, president, Sugar Creek Packing; and Sam Rovit, executive vice president, Kraft Foods Group, Oscar Mayer.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS:

Schnuck Markets, Inc., St. Louis
Anthony Hucker joined as executive vice president and chief strategy officer, effective Sept. 30. Building on a 30-year career in the retail industry, Hucker previously served as president of Giant Food and on the executive board of parent company Ahold USA. Hucker oversaw the operation of 169 supermarkets in the mid-Atlantic region and ensured Giant remained the market share leader in both Washington, D.C. and Baltimore.

The Kroger Co., Cincinnati
Steve McKinney was promoted to president of the Fry's Food Stores division, succeeding Jon Flora, who passed away unexpectedly. McKinney has been vice president of operations at the Ralphs division since 2007. McKinney began his Kroger career in 1981 as a clerk with Florida Choice Supermarkets, a former Kroger banner, before advancing to roles as a store manager, buyer and field representative. In 1988, he joined Fry's Food Stores in Phoenix, where he served in various leadership positions, including store manager, deli director, and executive director of operations.

AdvancePierre Foods, Inc., Cincinnati
John Simons, Jr. was named president and CEO and member of the board of directors, taking over for Bill Toler, who left the company. Simons brings more than 20 years of food, agribusiness and consumer products experience to his new role, specifically leading businesses with revenues ranging from $30 million to $10 billion. He served as president and CEO of Swift & Co., Inc., was president and COO of several divisions of Conagra Foods, Inc. and earlier in his career, spent nearly a decade in executive positions at Cargill, Inc. Most recently, he founded Fir Hill Ventures, advising beef industry producers on developing profitable international growth strategies.

Fonterra USA Inc., Rosemont, Ill.
Jonathan Mason, chief financial officer, announced his retirement, effective Oct. 4. Mason joined the co-op in 2009 in the midst of the global financial crisis, and led the company’s finance team through those difficult times. He also helped to deliver the company’s new capital structure with the implementation of Trading Among Farmers.

ConAgra Foods, Inc., Omaha, Neb.
Thomas “Tony” Brown was added to the board of directors, effective Oct. 15. Currently also a member of 3M’s board of directors, Brown most recently led Ford Motor Co.’s global purchasing team, where he managed approximately $90 billion of production and non-production goods and services for operations worldwide. Brown has also served on the board of directors for the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council, the American Red Cross and Business for Social Responsibility. He is currently chairman of the Michigan Disabled Veterans Roundtable and on the executive advisory boards of Focus: HOPE and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Detroit.

Dean Foods Co., Dallas
Marty Devine will serve as executive vice president, chief commercial officer, responsible for sales, marketing and research and development functions. The commercial team will focus on top-line growth, building improved customer relationships, expanding the company's presence in retail and foodservice channels and bringing innovative products to market. Shay Braun was named senior vice president, operations and procurement. Braun joined Dean Foods six years ago and has held positions in operations and procurement. Tony Brooks, who will continue to serve as senior vice president of logistics, was appointed to the executive leadership team. Brooks joined the company earlier this year and has 25 years of logistics leadership experience with companies such as Reyes Holdings, Sears and Frito-Lay. Meanwhile, Brian Murphy was appointed chief information officer, succeeding Barbara Carlini, who announced her retirement, effective Sept. 30. Murphy served as chief information officer for the company's Morningstar Foods division before it was sold to Saputo Inc.

Smithfield Foods, Inc., Smithfield, Va.
Robert Manlywas named executive vice president and chief synergy officer, responsible for maximizing synergies and leveraging opportunities between Smithfield and Shuanghui International, which completed their strategic combination last month. Manly will retain responsibility for Murphy-Brown, Smithfield's hog production operations. Kenneth Sullivan was appointed chief financial officer. Most recently, Sullivan served as senior vice president of finance and chief accounting officer. He joined Smithfield in 2003 as vice president of internal audit, became chief accounting officer in 2007, and in 2010, became vice president of finance and chief accounting officer.

FOODSERVICE:

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc., Greenwood Village, Colo.
Michael Kaplan was appointed senior vice president and chief legal officer, responsible for oversight of all legal matters, including risk management, compliance and corporate governance. Kaplan brings more than 20 years of professional legal experience, with a career that includes strategic legal leadership in a variety of industries such as defense and aerospace, electronics manufacturing and consumer products.

McDonald’s Corp., Oak Brook, Ill.
Digital executive Atif Rafiq will join in the newly-created global role of chief digital officer, leading the company’s global digital strategy focusing on future growth in e-commerce, modernizing the restaurant experience and engaging with consumers across the digital landscape.

SUPPLIERS:

Toray Plastics (America), Inc., North Kingstown, R.I.
Michael Brandmeier was promoted to executive vice president, responsible for the company's three divisions—Torayfan (polypropylene film), Lumirror (polyester film) and Toraypef (polyolefin foam). He will also continue to be a member of the board of directors. Brandmeier is a 33-year veteran in the plastic film industry. Scott Van Winter was promoted to senior vice president and general manager of the Lumirror division. He has been in the plastics industry for 25 years, having joined Toray in 2004 as the director of industrial sales after a variety of roles, including vice president of OPS Sheet and Specialty Films for Alcoa Kama Co. Christopher Roy is now general manager of the Torayfan division. Roy joined Toray in 1998 after seven years with Mid-America Plastics, Inc. as vice president. Lastly, Lisa Ahart was promoted to vice president, U.S. corporate human resources and environmental health and safety. Ahart launched her career in human resources at Rhode Island Hospital and also worked at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Alchemy Systems, Austin, Texas
Christine Mills was named senior vice president of global sales and marketing, responsible for increasing revenue by expanding Alchemy’s market share. Mills comes to Alchemy with more than 20 years of experience with software and professional services at SkillSoft and Unisys. Meanwhile, Laura Dunn Nelson was promoted to vice president of technical services business development, responsible for spearheading a new company focus on expanding customer services, while continuing to drive and manage Alchemy’s emergence into new markets. Nelson has 25 years of experience implementing food safety and quality control programs, including strategies to ensure compliance with the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), for processing, packaging, foodservice and retail operations.

The Montague Co., Hayward, Calif.
William Dolan and Michael Poulos of monobloc were named the company’s new manufacturer representatives covering New York, Northern New Jersey, western Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, southeast West Virginia and Delaware (Sussex County). Dolan and Poulos together bring a wealth of knowledge to this new venture, with extensive experience in the design and installation of foodservice kitchens.

Adept Technology, Inc., Pleasanton, Calif.
Seth Halio was named chief financial officer, responsible for accelerating the company turnaround from a financial perspective and acting as a key leader in managing the company's global finance and IT organizations. Halio comes to Adept with nearly 30 years of senior financial management experience in public accounting and public and private venture-backed companies, 12 years of which he was a CFO.

Dorner Mfg. Corp., Hartland, Wis.
Stacy Pabst was appointed new marketing manager, responsible for heading up all of the company’s marketing and advertising efforts that support its conveyor platforms. Additionally, she will coordinate new product research and development functions for industrial and sanitary markets, plus lead Dorner’s public relations, internet and tradeshow activities.

Fristam Pumps USA, Middleton, Wis.
Armando Diaz joined the company as bilingual applications engineer, responsible for providing technical support and customer assistance to Fristam’s Latin American customers. Diaz comes to Fristam with 12 years of mechanical design engineering experience and is fluent in both English and Spanish.