ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Santa Cruz
Sabrina Chandler was named the new complex manager for Upper Mississippi River National Fish and Wildlife Refuge. Chandler brings a wealth of experience from her last position as chief of staff to director Dan Ashe and special assistant to deputy directors Rowan Gould and Steve Guertin. Chandler’s deep experience in refuge operations comes from multiple refuge management positions across the Southeast, most recently as a deputy project leader in Mississippi, where she managed employees from seven national wildlife refuges along the Mississippi River. This, coupled with her time with the Mississippi Ecological Services Field Office, informs Chandler’s understanding of on-the-ground endangered species and contaminants work.

American Association of Port Authorities, New York
Kristin Decas, CEO and port director for the Port of Hueneme, was appointed incoming chair for AAPA’s 2014-2015 activity year. Decas took over as the Port of Hueneme’s CEO in February 2012. In 2013, the port marked its most active trade year since its inception in 1937, and achieved the strongest fiscal numbers in its 75-year history. Prior to taking the Port of Hueneme’s helm, Decas served for five years as CEO and port director for the Port of New Bedford, Mass., where she orchestrated the port’s complete fiscal turnaround and played a vital role in the development of a new terminal to support the nation’s first offshore wind energy project.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS:

Flowers Foods, Thomasville, Ga.
Bradley Alexander was named executive vice president and chief operating officer, taking over for Gene Lord, who continues to serve as executive vice president, providing support for operations with a focus on the integration of assets acquired from Old HB, Inc. (formerly Hostess Brands). Alexander will be responsible for company operations, including the direct-store-delivery and warehouse segments, as well as supply chain, marketing and product innovation. Alexander began his career with Flowers in 1981, and has held various positions in sales, operations and marketing, including bakery president and vice president of sales and marketing. D. Keith Wheeler was named president of Flowers Bakeries, responsible for providing direction for Flowers Bakeries’ six DSD sales regions. Wheeler began his career with Flowers in 1988. His experience with the company includes operational, accounting and sales positions, including regional controller, vice president of operations, director of strategic planning and bakery president. Thomas Wilson was named senior vice president of Flowers Bakeries’ West Coast region, takes on responsibilities previously held by Wheeler. Wilson joined Flowers Foods in 2008 when the company acquired Holsum Bakery. He has held several leadership positions in sales and operations, including vice president of sales and marketing, executive vice president and bakery president.  

GraceKennedy, Caribbean
Michael Ranglin was appointed president and CEO of GraceKennedy Foods (USA) LLC, and will retain his CEO position of the GraceKennedy foods division. Prior to this appointment, Ranglin served as chief executive officer for Grace Foods UK, a position he held for over three years. Ryan Mack, who was recently appointed deputy CEO, will assume oversight for services and manufacturing. Andrea Coy, senior general manager, global category management, will be responsible for the Hi-Lo Supermarket chain and World Brands. These appointments come after the wholly owned subsidiary, GraceKennedy Foods (USA) LLC, acquired La Fe Foods, Inc. 

Walmart, Bentonville, Ark.
Greg Foran was promoted to president and CEO of Walmart U.S., succeeding Bill Simon, who has been in the role since June 2010 and will be transitioning out of the company. A 35-year retail veteran, Foran joined the company in October 2011 and became president and CEO of Walmart China in March 2012. While leading the business in China, the team made significant progress with its assortment, pricing, store operations and compliance, as Foran led strategic investments in the supply chain and improved the store portfolio. He was promoted to president and CEO of Walmart Asia earlier this year. Prior to Walmart, Foran held a number of roles with Woolworths.

PepsiCo, Inc., Purchase, N.Y.
James Schiro tendered his resignation from the company's board of directors for personal health reasons, effective immediately. Schiro is the former CEO of both Zurich Financial Services and PricewaterhouseCoopers.  He was elected to the PepsiCo board of directors in 2003, and served as presiding director from May 2010-May 2013.

FOODSERVICE:

Performance Food Group, Inc. (PFG), Richmond, Va.
Jim Hope was named executive vice president of operations, responsible for operations and procurement and overseeing the company’s internal initiative to strengthen operational best practices. Hope joins PFG after serving in various executive leadership roles during his 26-year career with Sysco Corp.

On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, Dallas
Ward Whitworth was named president, following the resignation of CEO Steve Clark, who has committed to stay on for a period of time in order to ensure a smooth transition to new leadership. Ward was most recently president of ACG, an IHOP franchisee. Previously, he spent a number of years with YUM Brands running several large markets. In addition, Ward was vice president of franchise for Pizza Hut, responsible for 2,700 restaurants.

Wendy's Co., Dublin, Ohio
Brandon Solano, a veteran brand builder and product innovator, was named senior vice president of marketing, responsible for leading the company's brand marketing efforts. Prior to joining Wendy's, he served three years as vice president of franchise development at Domino's, leading retail store expansion, global retail re-imaging and franchise recruiting. Prior to Domino's, he served as marketing director for The Hershey Co., where he led marketing and product innovation for Reese's peanut butter cups, as well as Hispanic marketing. He has also held marketing positions with Procter & Gamble, the Kellogg Co. and Newell Rubbermaid, where he oversaw the launch of the brand's culinary school, the Calphalon Culinary Center. 

SUPPLIERS:

NACCO Materials Handling Group, Inc., Greenville, N.C.
The parent company of Hyster Co. and Yale Materials Handling Corp. hired Mike McCormick as vice president of warehouse solutions and Bill Buckhout as director of leasing and remarketing. McCormick has an extensive background in sales and product marketing, and has held roles of progressive responsibility with Caterpillar, FMC, Daewoo Heavy Industries, Elwell Parker and BT Prime-Mover, in addition to most recently serving as director of product management for a materials handling company. Buckhout most recently served as a leasing operations and marketing manager, and has held a number of roles in sales, equipment leasing/rental management, marketing and financial services in Rapidparts, Inc. and other materials handling companies.

Navistar International Corp., Lisle, Ill.
Samara Strycker will join the company Aug. 4 as senior vice president and corporate controller, taking over for Richard Tarapchak, who is leaving Navistar to pursue other career opportunities after a 22-year career with the company.Strycker joins Navistar from GE Healthcare, where she most recently served as Americas regional controller.

I.D. Systems, Inc., Woodcliff Lake, N.J.
Former Qualcomm vice president, Norman Ellis, was appointed chief operating officer, responsible for the company’s customer-facing operations, including sales, marketing, customer service, implementation and support. Ellis spent 16 years at Omnitracs as vice president of sales, services and marketing for North America, responsible for nearly $400 million in annual sales and a technology upgrade program that drove a 78% CAGR in conversion revenues from 2007 to 2013. Prior to his career at Qualcomm, Ellis held vice president and senior vice president positions with Service Transport, Overnite Transportation and Mason and Dixon Lines.

Adept Technology, Inc., Pleasanton, Calif.
Dr. Klaus Kluger was named the managing director for Europe, responsible for enhancing the company’s mobile and fixed robot market penetration and support services throughout Europe. Prior to joining Adept, Kluger held several positions at Emerson, including managing director at Emerson Network Power; general manager for Switzerland and Austria at Emerson Process Management; and director of instruments division for Emerson Process Management. He has also been managing director for Mobrey and managing director for PMV Vertriebsgesellschaft.

Load Delivered Logistics, Chicago
The 3PL provider announced new members of the board of advisors. Dave Mullen, formerly the CFO and executive vice president of NAVTEQ Corp., currently serves as a director of Mattersight Corp. and Avid Technology, Inc. Mullen joined NAVTEQ as the CFO in 2002. Prior to serving at NAVTEQ, Mullen led Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. through their IPO as the CFO and president. Arthur Mesher, former CEO of Descartes Systems Group, Inc., currently serves on the board of directors for Versapay, Nulogy Corp. and QHR Technologies Inc. Mesher led the creation of the first on-demand logistics network that provides application and communication capabilities. Paul Fisher stepped down as the president and CEO of CenterPoint Properties Trust in April 2013 after building and taking the company public. In addition to his current role as the vice chairman of CenterPoint’s board of trustees, Fisher serves as the chairman of the Supply Chain Innovation Network of Chicago. This announcement comes on the heels of the company’s recent office expansion. 

H. Randolph, Inc., Birmingham, Ala.
Robert "Bud" Moore joined as a consultant/trainer, responsible for providing SQF practitioner and HACCP training as well as assisting with SQF consulting/GAP analysis of plant food safety, quality and production programs. His extensive regulatory experience will provide special insight for dairy processors and will expand HRI's offerings into all facets of dairy regulations. Moore has over 25 years of regulatory and food safety experience in the food and dairy industries. He began his career managing a small family-owned dairy farm and later moved to Quest International as a production supervisor. He has been employed as a state rating officer with the State of Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for the past 20 years. 

POWER Engineers, Boise, Idaho
Peter Smith was named vice president of Canada facilities, responsible for leading the company’s efforts in building a strong food and beverage market in Canada. Most recently, Smith served as corporate vice president of engineering for more than 16 years at Maple Leaf Foods Inc. Prior to that, he was vice president of engineering for Ventura Foods LLP and vice president of engineering and chief engineer international at McCain Foods.

IN MEMORIUM: VIC ATIYEH, THE GREENBRIER COS., INC.