ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:

Organic Trade Association (OTA), Washington, D.C.
International market analysis Monique Marez joined as senior manager for international trade, responsible for implementing OTA's international trade strategy through collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, external contractors and industry representatives. She will also manage OTA's international trade grant funding development, and will play a key role in helping OTA achieve its commitment to developing markets around the world and creating new opportunities for America's organic growers. Marez brings a wealth of knowledge on research and analysis of markets, strategic implementation and outreach on the global food and agricultural industry. Marez most recently served as strategic projects manager for Great Performances, and has worked with the James Beard Foundation.

American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI), McLean, Va.
Joe Claytonwas named new executive vice president of public affairs, responsible for helping direct the organization’s public affairs program and overseeing day-to-day management of its “Frozen. How Fresh Stays Fresh.” national campaign. Clayton comes to AFFI with more than 30 years of experience in agency, corporate, government and non-profit arenas. Previously, he was the public affairs practice leader at Golin and founding partner of Outreach Strategies, where he represented the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the U.S. Climate Action Partnership. He also served as president and CEO of Widmeyer Communications and as legislative assistant to former U.S. Senator Alan Dixon (D-Ill.).

United Producers Inc. (UPI), Columbus, Ohio
Craig Adamswas re-elected chairman; Lynn Orr was re-elected first vice chairman; and Ralph Freebairn was re-elected second vice chairman. Adams, Orr and Freebairn serve on the executive committee along with Bill Pridgeon and Phil Torrens, who were also re-elected to serve on this committee. The board of directors also re-elected Torrens as chairman and Orr as vice chairman of the Producers Credit Corporation board, a subsidiary of UPI, doing business as UPI Credit Services.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS:

Allen Harim, LLC, Seaford, Del.
Keith Moore was named senior director, live operations, responsible for directing all live operations, including hatcheries, 25 company farms and more than 200 contract growers. Moore maintains more than 35 years of live operations experience. He comes from Perdue Farms, where he served in a wide variety of live operations roles, most recently as director of the Heritage Breeder program. Everett Brown was appointed senior manager of the Harbeson, Del., operations, ensuring safety and efficiency throughout facility. Most recently, he served as director of operations of Mountaire Farms for more than a decade, where he oversaw all three processing facilities and achieved 7 million safe work hours. Previous to Mountaire, Brown served at ConAgra Foods and Georges/Rocco Farm Foods, both as general manager/live operations. And, Rob Elliot was named sales business partner/credit manager, responsible for supporting and guiding the sales and marketing division and providing key metrics and analysis for the company’s three product lines—traditional, halal and antibiotic-free chicken. Previously, Elliot served as chief financial officer for a food business in Ohio, and before that as director of financial analysis and business improvement at Perdue Farms, Inc.

Delhaize Group, Belgium
The owner of Food Lion Group, Bottom Dollar Food and Hannaford retailers appointed Kevin Holt as chief executive officer for Delhaize America. Holt, formerly president of retail operations at SUPERVALU, will also become a member of the Delhaize Group Executive Committee, effective July 7. Holt comes to Delhaize Group with more than 20 years of retail leadership experience in operations, strategy and information technology. Prior to SUPERVALU, he served for three years with Sears Holding Co. and 14 years with Meijer, working in various leadership positions, including executive vice president of retail operations and senior vice president of information technology/services and strategic planning.

Ready Pac Foods Inc., Irwindale, Calif.
Stephanie Santiago was appointed director of national accounts—Costco team lead, responsible for serving as the primary account contact for Costco. She will collaborate with internal resources to develop and guide the implementation of account-specific business plans that achieve profitability and sales targets. Santiago comes from ADW ACOSTA, where she was Northwest regional business manager, overseeing a $100 million sales budget, which consisted of 75-plus suppliers spanning over five departments in Costco. Preceding ADW ACOSTA, she was national retail account representative for Aqua Star, progressing from prior roles with Four Seasons Avaria and Four Seasons Boston. Additionally, Robert Prystash was named new vice president of continuous improvement, responsible for leading transformation initiatives and continuing to progress Ready Pac’s culture of continuous improvement. Prystash comes from ConAgra Foods, where he was responsible for implementing a continuous improvement operating system in logistics as the director of continuous improvement in supply chain. While in this role, he used TPM, Lean and Six Sigma methodology to lead development of the vision, strategy and deployment plan. Before ConAgra, he worked for Sun Chemical, Solo Cup Co. and Moore Business Forms (now RR Donnelly) in a variety of continuous improvement roles.

Bob Evans Farms, Inc., New Albany, Ohio
Mark Hood, an exceptionally experienced financial executive in the restaurant and retail fields, was named chief financial officer. Most recently, Hood served as senior vice president and CFO of the Brown Shoe Co. from 2006-2012. Previously, he served as senior vice president and CFO of Panera Bread Co. from 2003-2006. His prior experience also includes two decades of service with May Department Stores Co., Inc., Saks Holdings, Inc. and U.S. Loyalty Corp. in various financial and administrative senior management roles.

Daiya Foods, Canada
Terry Tierney was appointed chief executive officer, responsible for helping propel the company to the next level of strategic growth. Tierney has served as a director of Daiya since 2011. His career in the natural, organic and conventional grocery industry spans 30 years, serving in such roles as president and CEO of MyChelle Dermaceuticals; president and CEO of Allegro Coffee; chief marketing officer of Frontier Natural Brands; and founder, president and CEO of Rocky Mountain Natural Foods.

Annie's, Inc., Berkeley, Calif. 
Robert Black, a senior advisor to the Boston Consulting Group and former group president of Kimberly-Clark Corp., joined the board of directors, serving as chairman of the Annie's Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee. Black served in senior roles at Kimberly-Clark from 2006-2012. Prior to becoming group president, he served as the company's chief strategy officer, responsible for reconstituting corporate and individual business strategies, M&A and the leadership agenda. Before he joined Kimberly-Clark, he was a director and chief operating officer of Sammons Enterprises, Inc., and has held a number of senior positions at Steelcase, Inc., including president of Steelcase International and a member of the Steelcase executive committee. 

FOODSERVICE:

Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc., Canton, Mass.
The parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins named Jeff Miller as new executive chef and vice president of product innovation, responsible for leading the 22-person culinary team to create new and unique food and beverages, as well as the company's strategic menu and product development. In addition to his background in R&D and logistics, Miller has experience in procurement and supply chain for both Dunkin' Donuts and Sid Wainer & Sons, and has managed restaurants. Additionally, Roxanne Bensason was promoted to vice president, international field marketing, supporting Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. Bensason has been with Dunkin' Brands since 2002. Prior to her new role, she was senior director of beverages and field marketing director for the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic regions. Sara Larcombe was promoted to senior director, international field marketing, supporting China, Japan and Korea. Since joining Dunkin' Brands in 2001, Larcombe has held several roles within the Baskin-Robbins team, and recently served in Japan supporting Dunkin' Brands' joint venture partners. George McAllan was appointed international managing director for Dunkin' Donuts China, where he will introduce new licensees into China and develop the brand in new markets. McAllan has worked for Dunkin' Brands for the past 18 years in a variety of roles. Lastly, Paul Reynish was appointed vice president, operations, supporting Dunkin' Brands' joint venture partnerships in Japan and Korea. Reynish has been with Dunkin' Brands for more than three years, serving as chief marketing officer for international.

SUPPLIERS:

Key Technology, Walla Walla, Wash.
Steve Johnson was promoted to senior director of Latin America and Asia sales, responsible for managing the company’s sales activities in the Latin America, Asia Pacific and Australia/New Zealand regions. Johnson has been with Key Technology for nine years. Most recently, he was senior director of marketing and will retain responsibility for leading the company’s worldwide marketing activities. Johnson brings 25 years of leadership experience to this position. Prior to joining Key Technology, he was vice president and general manager for Gordon Composites.

TOMRA Sorting Solutions, Austria
Former journalist Marijke Bellemans was named marketing communication coordinator. Marijke will act as a spokesperson for TOMRA Sorting Food, and will work closely with Brand8 PR, the company’s public relations firm, on the provision of news, comments and opinions from the company.

Ruan Transportation Management Systems, Des Moines, Iowa
Lisa Gonnermanwas promoted to vice president of safety. Since joining the company as director of safety in 2010, Gonnerman has launched Ruan’s proprietary Megasafe Safety Program, provided several years of safety leadership expertise and improved Ruan’s overall safety performance.

IN MEMORIUM: A.J. JANOSKO, PMMI

A.J. Janosko, director of expositions for PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, Reston, Va., passed away June 23 as a result of an accident.

Janosko joined PMMI in August 2012 to fill a newly created position handling much of the day-to-day show management.

He is survived by his wife, Tracy, and their sons, Andrew and Jackson.

Calling hours are 1-4 and 6-9 p.m. July 1 at Advent Funeral & Cremation Services (7211 Lee Hwy, Falls Church, Va.). Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated July 2 at 2 p.m. at St. James Catholic Church (905 Park Ave, Falls Church, Va.). 

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the A.J. Janosko Education Trust, a fund to benefit his sons. Go to www.ajjanoskoeducationtrust.org to learn more about Janosko and the trust fund.