PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:
Burke Marketing Corp., Nevada, Iowa
Chad Randick was named president, replacing David Weber, who was named vice president of marketing, foodservice for Hormel Foods. Randick began his career with Hormel Foods in 1994 as an accountant at the Fremont, Neb., plant. He progressed through various credit analyst positions and then became the manager of accounts payable and payroll at the Jennie-O Turkey Store corporate office in 1996, and the general accounting manager in 1997. Randick transitioned to Jennie-O Turkey Store foodservice sales the following year, starting as a regional sales manager and then advancing to a division director in 2006. In 2012, he became the director of foodservice and distribution for Jennie-O Turkey Store. He assumed his current role in 2013.

AB Acquisition LLC, Boise, Idaho
The parent company of Albertsons named Anuj Dhanda as executive vice president and CIO, effective Dec. 7. Dhanda has most recently served as chief information officer and senior vice president of digital commerce for the Giant Eagle supermarket chain. He began his career as a consultant with KPMG in 1984, and then worked at JP Morgan Chase before joining PNC Financial Services Group, where he became executive vice president and CIO. He joined Giant Eagle as CIO in 2013.

ARYZTA A.G., Zurich
Hilliard Lombard, chief executive officer of Europe / APAC, will leave the company, effective Jan. 31, 2016, to pursue other interests. Hilliard joined ARYZTA in 2004 to lead the company’s tax function, and has played a key role in investor relations, acquisitions and organization development. 

Flowers Foods, Thomasville, Ga.
Rhonda Gass, vice president and CIO of Stanley Black & Decker, and Richard Lan, retired chief operating officer of Maple Leaf Food Group and chief executive officer of its former Canada Bread subsidiary, were elected to join the board of directors, effective Jan. 3, 2016. Gass has served as vice president and CIO for Stanley Black & Decker since 2012, and was named an executive officer of the company the same year. She is responsible for Stanley Black & Decker's comprehensive and cross business unit IT strategy, delivery and support and security infrastructure. Previously, she was vice president of strategy, technology and governance for Dell, where she worked for 12 years. Lan spent 20 years with Maple Leaf Foods/Canada Bread Ltd. as chief operating officer of Maple Leaf Food Group, which included the protein and bakery businesses. Lan also served as chief executive officer of Canada Bread Ltd., which was publicly traded and 90% owned by Maple Leaf Foods until it was sold in 2014. Prior to his career with Maple Leaf, Lan held management positions at other food and beverage companies, including Dell Products Corp. and McCain Foods.

Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Madison, Wis.
Holly Schmitz was named Midwest regional marketing manager, representing the non-profit organization in the retail and foodservice channels and developing and implementing business plans and marketing programs for accounts in the Midwest. Schmitz maintains a strong background in consumer marketing and retail management. Most recently, she was the business development manager for Advantage, where she was responsible for all headquarter sales at Hy-Vee, Fareway Stores Inc., Roundy’s, Certco and Affiliated Midwest. Schmitz also boasts skills in developing growth plans and promotional strategies, as well as a special talent for building long-term relationships with buyers and department managers.

The Kroger Co., Cincinnati
Kate Ward was promoted to director of investor relations, succeeding Cindy Holmes, who was promoted to senior director of pension investments. Ward joined Kroger in 2001 as an auditor. In 2005, she moved to capital management, where she has served in several leadership roles, including her current role as manager of finance. Holmes began her Kroger career in 1990 as a systems analyst in Kroger Technology.

 

SUPERVALU INC., Minneapolis
Retail veteran Eric Claus was named chief executive officer of Save-A-Lot, the company’s hard-discount grocery segment, effective Jan. 4, 2016. As a result, Ritchie Casteel will serve as president of Save-A-Lot, and will continue to oversee day-to-day store operations while working on Save-A-Lot’s market development, store growth plans and preparation for the possible spin-off of Save-A-Lot. Claus has spent more than 30 years in the retail industry with career stops in both the United States and Canada. Most recently, he spent the past 2-plus years as the chairman, president and CEO of Red Apple Stores Inc., and has served as chief executive officer for Co-Op Atlantic, president and CEO at the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company and as an advisor to private equity firms on the retail and consumable goods industry.

 

 

SUPPLIERS:

Intelligrated, Cincinnati
Jon Tutuncu was added as senior director, commercial operations and strategy, responsible for establishing the company’s commercial operations organization and developing clear objectives and processes to drive sales performance. Tutuncu brings over 20 years of commercial operations experience, with data-driven insights based on performance metrics and productivity analysis to guide strategic planning. Prior to joining Intelligrated, Tutuncu served as regional director, commercial operations for General Electric Healthcare and vice president of marketing for General Electric Transportation.

Silgan Closures, Downers Grove, Ill.
A. J. Miller joined as marketing manager, tasked with establishing and executing marketing strategies to promote Silgan Closure's products and identify new areas for innovation. Miller comes from Smithfield Foods, where he was senior brand manager, responsible for strategic planning and oversight for numerous brands and for managing the company’s advertising and public relations agencies. Prior to that, he was a brand manager and national sales manager for Morton Salt.

Alfa Laval, Inc., Richmond, Va.
President and CEO Lars Renström will retire from his position, effective March 1, 2016, and will be succeeded by Tom Erixon, currently president and CEO of the OVAKO Group.

Hinds-Bock Corp., Seattle, Wash.
John Bostwick will be heading up the company’s Southeastern sales division. Bostwick returns after gaining 20 years’ experience in the packaging and food processing industries, working with companies such as Food Processing Systems, Inc., Heat and Control, Inc. and Convenience Foods System.

BluWrap, San Francisco
Rick Speed was named vice president of sales and business development. Speed has been in the seafood industry for 20 years, having previously served as director of West Coast business development for High Liner Foods and vice president of North American sales for Icicle Seafoods. Speed was also chairman of the Salmon Council at National Fisheries Institute, chairman of the Retail Marketing Committee of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute and founding member of the Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers.

API Group, Brighton, Minn.
Packaging and security industry professional Richard Burhouse will take on the new role of commercial director, responsible for facilitating and deploying API’s brand enhancement commercial focus and supporting its newly formed creative development group in providing brand owners, printer converters and designers with new ideas in how to enhance their packaging. Previously, Burhouse worked at De La Rue and Essentra in a variety of marketing and business development roles, and maintains 20 years’ experience across the packaging and security sectors.