ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:
National Pork Board, Des Moines, Iowa
Chris Hodges, a pork industry leader with substantial senior management experience in agriculture, will join as new chief executive officer, effective Feb. 16. Previously, Hodges was senior vice president of business development for Smithfield Farmland, and brings decades of in-depth knowledge and innovation in marketing pork to key U.S. food retailers and international markets.
Diversified Port Holdings (DPH), Jacksonville, Fla.
Charles Tillotson was appointed chief commercial officer, effective Jan. 5. He joins the organization with over 30 years of experience in the stevedoring and terminal-related operations across all three U.S. coastlines. His extensive knowledge of military stevedoring, general commercial stevedoring, sales and business development will be important to the future growth of the organization.
PROCESSORS/RETAILERS:
FrieslandCampina, Asia
Piet Hilarides was appointed chief operating officer, consumer products Asia, responsible for the production and sales of the company’s broad range of dairy products to consumers in Asia. He has a strong track record in leading FrieslandCampina's cheese, butter and milk powder business group and the Milkvalorization strategy. During the past two years, he has also been responsible for developing and implementing the company's African strategy, including new market entry and mergers and acquisitions.
Golden State Foods (GSF), Irvine, Calif.
Joe Heffington was promoted to corporate vice president and chief accounting officer, responsible for all accounting, tax and financial planning and analysis functions. For the past four years, he has served as the corporate vice president of finance, and was critical in establishing the company’s banking relationship and financing arrangements in China through GSF’s joint venture partner, KanPak China. He also led the effort to standardize accounting processes and procedures across multiple distribution centers, creating greater efficiencies and productivity, and worked with the group’s accounting administrative managers to implement consistent policies, procedures and reporting formats. Prior to joining GSF, Heffington spent three decades as a CPA for Deloitte and Touche, and as chief financial officer for Danish Creamery Association, California Milk Producers and California Dairies Inc.
Sargento Foods, Inc., Plymouth, Wis.
Kevin Garcia joined as customer business manager, within the consumer products division, responsible for product sale management, market development, customer relationships and broker management within the North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia markets. Garcia most recently worked at Acosta Sales and Marketing as business manager for WhiteWave Foods and Kellogg's. He also previously coordinated account management at LeadDog Marketing Group. Meanwhile Emily Kapszukiewicz accepted the position of national category insights manager, also within the consumer products division, responsible for evolving and executing the category management roadmap. Prior to joining Sargento Foods, Kapszukiewicz was customer insight analyst at Johnsonville Sausage, where she worked with loyalty card data and category reviews. Alexander (Alec) Bartolai was hired as sustainability program manager in the engineering department, responsible for leading the team’s sustainability initiatives, from identifying technologies to implementing improvements and tracking results. Before joining Sargento Foods, he was the environmental, health, safety and interpretive manager at Delaware North Cos.’ Kalaloch Lodge, and was environmental compliance manager at McMaster-Carr Supply Co. Stuart Manning was promoted to marketing manager of snacks, responsible for continuing to build the Sargento Natural Cheese Snacks line as well as developing and implementing strategies, plans and programs to meet tactical and strategic goals. Manning has been associate marketing manager at Sargento Foods for the past three years, responsible for the marketing efforts behind refrigerated and non-refrigerated snacks. Lastly, Steven Strubbe joined as senior marketing manager of shredded cheese. Prior to joining Sargento Foods, Strubbe worked as assistant brand manager at The Scotts Miracle-Grow Co., where he managed multiple aspects of the Scotts lawn spreader and lawn products portfolios. He also worked at Anheuser-Busch and Kimberly-Clark, and most recently served as brand manager on the Huggies core diaper line for Kimberly-Clark.
The Schwan Food Co., Marshall, Minn.
Robin Galloway joined as executive vice president of finance and CFO, succeeding Jim Dollive, who will be retiring after an accomplished 30-plus-year career in the food industry. Galloway brings two decades of finance experience, having worked for corporations that develop and manufacture foods for both retail stores and foodservice operators. She most recently served as chief financial officer for Wells Enterprises, Inc., and has held leadership positions with Dean Foods, Restaurants Unlimited and Johnson Controls, Inc.
The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc., Ridgefield, Conn.
John DeBenedetti, principal and CEO of Del Monte Meat Co., will join the company as executive vice president of protein, after the meat processor was purchased by Chef’s Warehouse.
FOODSERVICE:
Quiznos, Denver, Colo.
Doug Pendergast was named new president and CEO, succeeding Stuart Mathis, who resigned to pursue other opportunities. Previously, Pendergast has held a variety of leadership roles in the restaurant industry, most recently, as president and CEO of The Krystal Co. Prior to that, he was chief development and franchising officer for Craftworks, executive vice president and chief franchise officer for Church's Chicken and vice president of strategy for AFC Enterprises.
SUPPLIERS:
Partner Logistics, UK
Johan Kredietwas appointed supply chain manager, responsible for overseeing integrated warehousing and transport projects and establishing and managing relationships with distribution partners.Krediet has been working with small and medium enterprises in both the logistics and transport industry for 27 years.
Norfolk Southern Corp., Norfolk, Va.
Donald Seale, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, announced plans to retire, effective March 1. Seale joined Norfolk Southern in 1976 as a management trainee, and has since served in numerous sales and marketing capacities relating to the railroad’s service to its merchandise and coal customers before being named senior vice president marketing services in 2003, executive vice president sales and marketing in 2004 and executive vice president and chief marketing officer in 2006. Seale championed new, more time-sensitive service offerings and was a leader in developing and marketing rail services to new and expanding businesses in the energy sector.
CoverisS.A., Chicago
The board of directors induced three new independent members. Richard Passov will provide the board with a keen understanding of global financial market conditions and accounting practices. He most recently served as chief financial officer for Zoetis Inc. and also served as treasurer for Pfizer, Inc. and assistant treasurer for Intel Corp. Luis Bach is currently a partner with Monvic Consulting S.L., and served nearly seven years as the chief executive officer of Orangina Schweppes. Under his leadership, Orangina Schweppes grew to become one of Western Europe’s leading fruit drinks and non-cola beverage companies. He has acute international business experience, having previously served as regional director for Europe North, Middle East, Africa and India for Bacardi. He is also a director for Suntory Holdings Ltd. Fernando Aguirre is an investor and founder of The Triple Play Group LLC and director at Aetna Inc. and Barry Callebaut AG. Previously, he was chairman, CEO and president of Chiquita Brands International for nearly nine years, and worked for over 23 years at Procter & Gamble in a variety of management roles. Aguirre brings significant global business experience across different industries as well as expertise in governance and leadership.
NewAge Industries, Southampton, Pa.
Lawrence Morano was promoted to global sales manager for the company’s AdvantaPure high-purity products division, succeeding Michael Allard, who was promoted to director of sales. In his new role, Morano will manage AdvantaPure’s worldwide sales channel network, develop strategies for the continued growth of the AdvantaPure business and represent the company at numerous international tradeshows. Morano’s past experience includes outside sales positions for bioprocess and laboratory products sold to the biopharmaceutical industry, and he maintains extensive knowledge of single-use fluid transfer systems. Meanwhile, Stephen McDevitt was promoted to assistant inside sales manager, responsible for providing support to the company’s inside sales manager and servicing some of NewAge’s most critical accounts. McDevitt is a 12-year employee who has has contributed significantly to the growth of the AdvantaPure.
Applied Robotics, Inc., Glenville, N.Y.
Kevin Drummond assumed the role of director, sales and marketing, responsible for overseeing all sales and marketing activities. Drummond brings 25 years’ experience in sales and marketing, encompassing hands-on technical sales as well as marketing strategy, channel management, business development and marketing communications. Most recently, he worked as the vice president of sales and marketing for a $20 million enterprise that specializes in high-flex-life cabling for harsh environments such as robotic and military applications.
Kool Pak Logistics (KPL), Portland, Ore.
Lukas Bardue was named logistics specialist, bringing several years of experience in transportation services, having worked in the industry as a broker, business development and customer service manager, owner and public relations director. Meanwhile, Cindy Soll joined as administrative support. Soll most recently worked in operations at KPL’s parent company Kool Pak LLC. Her transportation industry career started in shipping and receiving at Safeway Corp.
