ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:
Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), Alexandria, Va.
Brandy Christian, chief operating officer and incoming president and CEO for the Port of New Orleans, is now chair of AAPA’s Cruise Committee. Christian’s experience includes leadership roles with the Port of San Diego and serving as a quality management consultant with KPMG Consulting. Christian is also said to be the Port of New Orleans’ first female CEO in its 120-year history. Andrew Palomares, chief finance and administrative officer for the Port of Hueneme/Oxnard Harbor District, is now chair of AAPA’s Finance Committee. Palomeres was originally hired by the port in 2007 to serve as treasurer and director of finance and administration. Ryan McFarland, federal government relations manager for the Port of Seattle, is now chair of AAPA's Harbors and Navigation Committee. Before joining the Port of Seattle in 2006, McFarland worked in the export promotion division of the Washington State Department of Commerce, and served as manager of The Eisenhower Institute’s Future of Space project. Edward Anthes-Washburn, executive director for the Port of New Bedford, is now chair of AAPA’s Maritime Economic Development Committee. Anthes-Washburn has served as the Port of New Bedford’s deputy port director and director of operations for five years. He was promoted to executive director in July 2015, where he also directs the operations and policies of the Harbor Development Commission, the governing body for the Port of New Bedford. Judith Adams, vice president of marketing for the Alabama State Port Authority, is now chair of AAPA’s PR Committee. Adams is responsible for her port’s public and community affairs, real estate and fixed assets, economic development and government relations. In addition, she serves on the boards of directors for the National Waterways Conference and Partners for Environmental Progress.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:
Smithfield Foods, Inc., Smithfield, Va.
Tim Zimmer was appointed chief marketing officer, tasked with leading the company’s brand strategy for Smithfield, Eckrick and Nathan's Famous brands, among others, and responsible for domestic marketing activities across all channels of the packaged meats division. Zimmer joined Smithfield in 2011 as a senior vice president of sales and business development. He was later named senior vice president of retail and foodservice sales. Prior to joining Smithfield, Zimmer held sales and marketing roles of increasing responsibility at Nestlé, Kraft Foods and Sara Lee Corp.

Tyson Foods, Inc., Springdale, Ark.
Mary Kay James was named vice president and general manager of Tyson New Ventures, the company’s new venture capital fund. James previously served as managing director of DuPont Ventures, was chairperson of the National Venture Capital Association, Corporate Venture Group and an advisory board member to Global Corporate Venturing. James and her team will seek startups that complement Tyson Foods’ existing business and product development efforts. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Schomburger, global sales officer for Procter & Gamble (P&G), was selected as a new independent director on the board of directors, effective Dec. 5. Schomburger has held numerous leadership positions with P&G since joining the company in 1984, including president of the Global Walmart team from 2005-2015. He started with P&G as a sales representative, and held positions of increasing responsibility in the company’s paper products business. He progressed to the company’s customer marketing organization, managing various assignments in Western Europe, including vice president of sales for Western Europe, before returning to the United States to lead P&G’s global Walmart business. He was named to his current position in 2015.

CHS Inc., St. Paul, Minn.
Mark Farrell, farmer in Cross Plains, Wis., was elected director of a 3-year term, succeeding Robert Bass, who retired after 22 years. Farrell has served as a director for what is now Premier Cooperative since 1992, including four years as chairman. With his brother and son, he operates a 4,000-acre corn, wheat and soybean farm, along with a 6,000-head contract hog finishing operation. Re-elected to the board are Dennis Carlson, chairman of Farmers Union Oil Co.; Alan Holm, director at CHS; Randy Knecht, assistant secretary and assistant treasurer of Knecht Farms; and Steve Riegel, advisory director for Bucklin (Kan.) National Bank and former chairman of Pride Ag Resources. David Bielenberg was elected to a fifth 1-year term as chairman. Other directors selected as 2017 officers were Daniel Schurr, Dan Schurr Corn Farms, as first vice chairman; David Johnsrud, Johnsrud Farm, as secretary-treasurer; C.J. Blew, MKC Cooperative, as second vice chairman; and Don Anthony, All Points Cooperative, as assistant secretary-treasurer.

Wakefern Food Corp., Keasbey, N.J.
Chris Lane was promoted to executive vice president, tasked with guiding day-to-day operations and strategy planning. Lane joined Wakefern in 2003 as vice president of pharmacy, and in 2005, added health and beauty care to his responsibilities. By 2008, he was promoted to vice president, grocery, direct store delivery and commercial bakery. In 2011, he was promoted again to senior vice president, non-perishables, and most recently, was named to his current position of senior vice president, product divisions, where he managed the various procurement divisions in addition to health and wellness initiatives. Prior to joining Wakefern, Lane served as vice president of pharmacy at Duane Reade.

Chobani, LLC, Norwich, N.Y.
Kevin Burns, chief operating officer, will be stepping down Dec. 16 after more than two years on the job. Burns, who joined Chobani while head of global operations and a partner at TPG in 2014, was once an expected successor to CEO Hamdi Ulukaya.

Kroger Co., Cincinnati
Kevin Dougherty, group vice president and chief digital officer, announced plans to retire Jan. 27, 2017, after 15 years of service. Yael Cosset, chief commercial officer and chief information officer of 84.51°, will succeed Dougherty effective upon his retirement. Dougherty joined Kroger in 2001 as vice president of supply chain operations. He was promoted to group vice president of logistics in 2004, before being named group vice president and chief supply chain officer in 2010. Under his leadership, Kroger made considerable progress on its associate safety initiatives. In 2012, Dougherty was promoted to group vice president of digital at Vitacost, where he oversaw Kroger's development of ClickList. He was named group vice president and chief digital officer in 2015. Cosset joined dunnhumby in 2009 as executive vice president of consumer markets. He was named global chief information officer in 2011, in charge of technology and product matters. He also served as chief executive officer of KSS Retail, a dunnhumby company. In both roles, Cosset collaborated with executives at Kroger as well as Tesco, Macy's and Raley's, among others, to deliver innovative customer insight and personalization platforms. He was named to his current role at 84.51° in 2015.

Hain Celestial Group, Inc., Lake Success, N.Y.
Gary Tickle joins as chief operating officer, responsible for overseeing the sales and marketing functions for the Better-for-You Snacking and Better-for-You Pantry platforms and U.S. brands. Tickle served in various executive roles driving innovation, global strategy development and execution at Nestlé Group, having most recently served as president and CEO of Nestlé Infant Nutrition North America, responsible for the Gerber and Nestlé brands. Prior to this role, Tickle served as the regional business head, South Asia; as the global head, maternal and infant nutrition strategic business unit in Vevey, Switzerland; and chief executive officer for baking, beverages, cereals, confections and frozen food in Auckland, New Zealand. Jerome "Jay" Erskin joins as chief supply chain officer, overseeing the supply chain and productivity for all U.S. locations. Erskin is a results-oriented operations executive with strong experience in the food and beverage industries, having started his business career as a manufacturing and procurement manage for Kraft Foods Inc. He also served in various capacities as plant director and procurement director for The Dannon Co., Inc.; manufacturing director at MARS Petcare NA; vice president, operations at Chobani, LLC, and more recently, chief operating officer at SK Food Group, Inc. James "Jamie" Fay joins as chief customer officer with a substantial background as a senior sales and marketing executive in the natural, conventional and mass channels. Fay will oversee the sales functions for Hain Celestial United States, including consumer and customer analytics and trade marketing along with the marketing function for Better-for-You Baby. Most recently, Fay served as senior vice president, global sales for Nature's Path Foods. Previously, Fay worked in positions of increasing responsibility at Mars, Inc., ascending to a senior vice president, sales role in the North America chocolate business. Fay also worked in various sales and marketing positions for Group Danone in the United States and Canada. Additionally, Leah Dunmore was appointed vice president, marketing for Better-for-You Pantry. Dunmore previously served as vice president, U.S. soup for Campbell Soup Co.; and as marketing director, M&M’s business for Mars Chocolate, North America. Dunmore also spent over a decade with SC John in various marketing leadership roles across a wide range of brands. Tim Collins joined the Celestial Seasonings business as vice president, marketing, responsible for the Celestial Seasonings tea and Dream plant-based beverage brands. Collins previously served as marketing director for Kraft Heinz Co., Kraft Enhancers; associate marketing director, frozen snacks for Kraft Heinz; senior brand manager, Teavana at Starbucks as well as various marketing positions at Procter and Gamble. James Meiers was appointed chief executive officer, Hain Pure Protein Corp., overseeing the Empire Kosher, Plainville Farms and FreeBird poultry brands. Meiers is also chief operations officer for Hain Celestial, in charge of the company’s new Project Terra cost savings initiative. James Skidmore was appointed chief executive officer Hain Daniels, responsible for the Hain Daniels business with its grocery, fruit and chilled and frozen business units featuring the Hartley's,  New Covent Garden Soup Co. , Linda McCartney's, Sun-Pat and Robertson's brands, among others. Skidmore joined the company with the Orchard House Foods acquisition in December 2015. 

Conagra Brands, Inc., Chicago
Thomas “Tad” Dickson was added to the board of directors, effective immediately. Dickson most recently served as president and CEO of Harris Teeter Supermarkets, Inc. from February 1997 until January 2014. During that time, he also served as a director of Harris Teeter, including as chairman from March 2006 until January 2014. Dickson currently serves as a director of Brixmor Property Group Inc. and CST Brands, Inc.

Sargento Foods Inc., Plymouth, Wis.
Long-time employee Dorothy Farrell announced plans to retire in January 2017 after being with the company for 33 years. Farrell started with Sargento in 1983 as communications director. Since then, she’s moved throughout the consumer products division, focusing on marketing and demand planning for snack, shredded and sliced cheese products as well as new product development. She also spent time in the foodservice and ingredients division and the new business development department. She is currently the demand planning director.

FOODSERVICE:
FOCUS Brands, Atlanta
Paul Macaluso was promoted to president of McAlister's Deli. Macaluso’s background includes more than 20 years of operations, franchising and marketing experience with some of the most prominent brands in the foodservice industry, including Taco Bell, Burger King and Sonic Drive-In. Since joining FOCUS Brands in 2011 as vice president of marketing for Moe's Southwest Grill, he has developed and executed new branding, advanced consumer insights deployment, led high functioning teams and identified notable sales-driving innovations. Most recently, he served as senior vice president of brand marketing strategy, where he led the collective marketing capabilities for all six brands that are a part of FOCUS Brands, developing long-term, consumer-driven, strategic planning processes, creating a marketing center of excellence for creative, social media and PR and playing an instrumental role in developing a digital roadmap across the enterprise.

Smashburger, Denver, Colo.
Tom Ryan, co-founder and chief brand officer, will serve as interim CEO, taking over for Michael Nolan, who is out less than nine months after taking the position.

CKE Restaurants, Carpinteria, Calif.
Foodservice industry leader and chief executive officer Andy Puzder will serve as the next Secretary of Labor by President-elect Donald Trump. Puzder is credited for turning around both the Hardee’s brand and CKE, allowing the company to survive, become financially secure and return to growth.

SUPPLIERS:
Bosch Packaging Technology, Germany
Dr. Stefan König will become president, effective Jan. 1, 2017, succeeding Friedbert Klefenz, who is set to retire June 30, 2017. He will oversee technology (comprising engineering, manufacturing and quality), the confectionery, food and liquid food business units, as well as assembly systems and special machinery. Upon joining the Bosch Group in 1998, Klefenz assumed leadership of the pharma liquid product group, and has been president of Bosch Packaging Technology since April 2002. König has worked at Bosch since 1997, holding various positions, including a stint in the Bosch mobility solutions business sector. In 2009, König transferred to the Bosch Packaging Technology division, where he initially oversaw the assembly systems and special machinery business unit. Meanwhile, Uwe Harbauer will be in charge of sales, effective Jan. 1, 2017. A mechanical engineer, Harbauer has worked for Bosch Packaging Technology at various sites in Germany and Switzerland since 2000. He will retain his current position as management spokesman for Bosch Packaging Technology’s pharma business unit. Also, Klaus Albeck will continue to be the member of the executive management, responsible for finance and administration as well as IT coordination.

Anchor Packaging, Inc., St. Louis, Mo.
Thomas Bowden was appointed vice president of manufacturing for all Arkansas facilities. Bowden brings over 30 years of experience in manufacturing and general management positions, with ever-increasing responsibilities at Pactiv, Sonoco, Pliant, Berry Plastics and ProAmpac, where he most recently worked. 

DENSO Products and Services Americas, Inc., Long Beach, Calif.
David Williams was promoted to the newly created position of director of original equipment sales (OES), marketing and strategic planning, responsible for overseeing all aspects of DENSO’s original equipment service sales, product development and original equipment service parts while continuing to manage the company’s marketing and strategic planning departments. Williams has played a key role in DENSO’s alignment of its global and North American aftermarket growth plans since he joined DENSO in 2013 as manager of the strategic planning department. In 2015, he was promoted to senior manager of marketing and strategic planning, with oversight of the marketing department for the company’s independent aftermarket and non-automotive groups. His recent promotion to director took effect Oct. 24. Williams came to DENSO with 15 years of management experience in the automotive industry. Previously, he served as global business unit manager at Barksdale Controls, Inc., a subsidiary of Crane Co. Prior to working at Crane, he served as the truck product marketing manager at Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc.

Congebec Logistics, Canada
Richard Patenaude was named national logistics director. Patenaude brings more than 20 years of experience in multimodal transportation, distribution and related outsourced management services. He has been involved in large-scale transportation projects throughout the country with small, medium and large consumer packaged goods manufacturers and distributors as well as the top Canadian grocery retailers.

Eurofins, Des Moines, Iowa
Sean Murray was appointed national division leader for U.S. food and president of Eurofins Scientific Inc. (ESI), responsible for fostering growth in the U.S. food testing market. Before joining Eurofins, Murray led numerous organizations in innovation, business development and as a general manager. His various experiences include R&D at Stryker Instruments, and strategy consulting for McKinsey & Co. Most recently, Murray led a startup business unit at Worthington Industries', which he grew from 1 employee to over 300. There, he spent time as managing director of the business's European joint venture, later becoming general manager of the global business unit.

Neogen Corp., Lansing, Mich.
Dr. Dan Kephart was named to the newly created position of chief science officer, effective Jan. 1, 2017. Kephart will work with the company's research and development teams, as well as innovative global manufacturing operations. Kephart has served as research and development director for the agribusiness unit of Thermo Fisher Scientific, as well as animal health and food safety development at Life Technologies.

Avnet, Inc., Phoenix, Ariz.
Graham McBeth was promoted to president of Premier Farnell Plc, effective immediately, replacing interim president Steven Webb, a 16-year veteran of Premier Farnell, who has played an integral role during the last several months in overseeing Premier Farnell’s integration into the Avnet organization. He will remain with the company until Jan. 31, 2017. McBeth will be responsible for the strategic direction, day-to-day operations and performance of the British distributor of electronic system designs. He most recently served as president of Avnet Abacus, the Avnet business specializing in interconnect, passive and electromechanical products throughout Europe. McBeth joined Abacus Group Plc in 1995, was appointed to the main board as technical director in 1997, and later became group managing director of Abacus, with responsibility for the company’s sales and marketing strategy. In 2009, following the acquisition of Abacus Group by Avnet, McBeth became president of Avnet Abacus.

IN MEMORIUM: JOSEPH GREENE, AFS TECHNOLOGIES

Joseph Greene, vice president of customer development, supply chain execution solutions for AFS Technologies, Phoenix, Ariz., passed away unexpectedly in Thailand while travelling abroad.

Greene began his career in the food industry working at his family’s distributorship Park City Foods in Stratford, Conn., at the early age of nine. It was rumored he was driving trucks and making deliveries by 13. 

Greene was drafted into the U.S. Army, spending most of his deployment stationed in Stuttgart, Germany, where he learned about computer programming.

In 1979, he formed Distribution Management Systems (DMS), and began working on a new system, written from the ground up, with the specific intent to provide automation and competitive advantage to foodservice distributors. Many attribute key advancements in distributor software to Greene, including automatic increased margin (AIM) pricing, nickel roundup and advanced deal tracking. Always ahead of his time, he is said to program one of the industry’s first mobile sales systems that ran on a word processor-sized laptop called a Roadrunner, which used a ROM cartridge for storage and a calculator-sized LED screen. He is also said to introduce one of the first handheld sales force automation solutions that ran on the Apple Newton platform.

Greene served as chief executive officer of Distribution Management Systems until 2005, when it was acquired by AFS Technologies, where he worked and served as a consultant for several years. 

He is survived by his wife Constance and their two sons, Dr. Michael Greene and Jonathan Greene, and his four grandchildren.

Donations can be made to the Bridgeport Rescue Mission, www.bridgeportrescuemission.org.