ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:
Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, Long Beach, Calif.
Mario Cordero, a former chairman and current member of the Federal Maritime Commission, was elected the Port of Long Beach’s new executive director. Cordero previously served as president, and has served on the Federal Maritime Commission since 2011, with a term set to expire in June 2019. He served as chairman from April 2013 to January 2017. He was also Long Beach Harbor commissioner from 2003-2011, where he helped to spearhead the port’s Green Port Policy. He also served as president of the Harbor Commission from 2007-2008. Additionally, Cordero served on the executive board of the American Association of Port Authorities' Latin American delegation, where he led efforts to develop policies for greater cooperation, increased trade and joint growth across the combined North American and Latin American footprint. Cordero has also practiced law for more than 30 years.

American Bakers Association (ABA), Washington, D.C.
New directors to the board include Mario Somoza, president and CEO of Pan Pepin, Inc. Mike Gude, director of publishing for Sosland Publishing Co., joins as the BEMA representative, replacing Dale LeCrone, president of LeMatic, Inc. John Hellman, managing partner of McGahee, Lacy & Associates, joins as ATBI president, replacing former ATBI president Tom McCurry, managing director and COO of Cain Food Industries, Inc. After the Biscuit and Cracker Manufacturers’ Association merger, the following individuals from the B&CMA membership joined as new directors for the ABA board: Bill Quigg, president of Richmond Baking, and Todd Wallin, president of Ellison Bakery and Chris Wilkins, vice president and general manager of Treehouse Private Brands. Vince Tamborello, general manager of Benchmark Automation, joined as the allied at-large representative, replacing Miles Jones, co-chairman of Dawn Food Products.

Texas International Produce Association (TIPA), Mission, Texas
Dante Galeazzi was elected new president and CEO, effective May 1. Galeazzi brings a vast set of experiences to the position, including previous roles in produce transportation and logistics, produce sales, operations management and grower relations. Galeazzi also served on the TIPA board of directors for nearly 10 years, including eight years on the executive committee and a 2-year term as chairman of the board. Galeazzi replaces Bret Erickson, president and CEO of the board, who announced his intention to pursue a new leadership position with an international agricultural technology firm.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:
Potatoes USA, Denver, Colo.
Jerry Tominaga and David Tonso were elected to the executive committee. Tominaga will be serving his fourth year on the board, having previously served on both the international and domestic marketing committees. Tonso will be serving his fifth year on the board, having previously served on the domestic marketing and industry outreach committees. Tominaga is a third-generation farmer and owner of Southwind Farms, Inc., primarily focusing on growing specialty varieties such as Fingerlings and round marbles for table-stock and frozen processing. Tonso is the regional sales manager for RPE-Colorado.

Smart & Final, Commerce, Calif.
Derek Jones was named new president of the Cash & Carry smart foodservice division. Jones comes from SpartanNash Co., where he was president and executive vice president, wholesale and distribution operations. Prior to that, he served in a variety of roles, including executive vice president of food distribution, executive vice president of retail operations and executive vice president of wholesale operations. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from his 26 years in the retail industry, spanning several positions in operations, distribution and supply chain at Unisource Worldwide, Office Depot, Walgreens and Wal-Mart Stores.

Newman's Own, Westport, Conn.
Dr. Lynn Pasquerella was appointed to the Newman's Own Advisory Board. Pasquerella is currently president of the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U), where she has served since July 2016. Recently, Pasquerella spearheaded a program through the AAC&U, launching The Centers for Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation, and has been a long-time advocate for liberal education with a focus on inclusion for all students, regardless of socioeconomic backgrounds. Pasquerella is also former president of Mount Holyoke College, where she served for 6 years. And, she spent 23 years in public higher education, including at the University of Rhode Island, where she served as a professor of philosophy and held a range of administrative positions such as department chair and dean of the graduate school. She also served as provost at the University of Hartford in Connecticut from 2008-2010.

US Foods Holding Corp., Rosemont, Ill.
Ty Gent joined as chief supply chain officer, responsible for overseeing all warehousing, transportation and supply chain strategy and operations, as well as safety programs and real estate. Gent maintains more than 30 years of supply chain leadership experience. Previously, he served as senior vice president of operations for PepsiCo Central and South America regions, and senior vice president of logistics for PepsiCo North America, where he led the warehouse delivery network for Quaker, Gatorade and Tropicana, as well as the PepsiCo Transportation network for North America.

Zacky Farms, Fresno, Calif.
Jackie Woods was promoted to SQF practitioner in the quality assurance department. Woods started with the company as an intern in 2002, and was hired as a full-time employee in 2004.

SUPPLIERS:
OPTIMA Machinery Corp., Green Bay, Wis.
Uli Unterriker was named managing director of Optima USA. Unterriker started his career in the automotive branch, by becoming the first account manager for Mahle Filter in North America in 1996. In 2000, he was area sales manager for a leading German packaging machinery manufacturer, responsible for new machine sales in Scandinavia and parts of Southern Europe. From 2001-2007, the German packaging machinery manufacturer moved him to Minneapolis, responsible for the pharma solid product group, including new machine sales, application engineering and product management. In 2007, he joined the Hudson-Sharp Machine Co. as director of sales, America, which in 2009, became the bag converting business unit of Thiele Technologies, in which he was later named vice president of the bag converting business unit.

Smartcool Systems Inc., Canada
Frank Lawrence was appointed senior vice president cold chain, responsible for the development of new global marketing and sales strategies for the company’s refrigerated transportation and cold storage verticals. Initially focusing primarily on the North American marketplace, Lawrence will head up the company’s new initiative of direct sales to the refrigerated transportation business, with particular interest in refrigerated transportation (reefer trailers), refrigerated containers and cold storage facilities.

Barry-Wehmiller, St. Louis, Mo.
Twenty-year packaging industry veteran Bruce Larson was tapped as director of business development of the company’s packaging platform, responsible for coordinating client opportunities within BW Packaging Solutions to ensure that the organization provides the optimal solution from Barry-Wehmiller’s comprehensive range of packaging capabilities. Larson spent the past 4 years as vice president of new business development with Hayssen Flexible Systems, a Barry-Wehmiller division. Prior to that, he held roles with Prototype Equipment Corp., Goodman Packaging Equipment and Pearson Packaging Systems. Larson is a past PMMI board member, chaired PMMI’s workforce and development committee for five years, and currently sits on the show committee.

BW Container Systems, a division of Barry-Wehmiller, Romeoville, Ill.
Eric Collier was promoted to vice president of sales-Americas, responsible for leading all sales team activities, including key accounts, regional sales executives, project management and contract administration in the United States, Canada and Latin and South America. Collier has served as director of strategic sales-North America since joining BW Container Systems in 2015, and under his leadership, the company’s market share in the food, wine and spirits, home and personal care, pet food and chemical industries has grown exponentially. Prior to joining BW Container Systems, he led sales, project and application teams at Alvey/Intelligrated. Collier is a 15-year packaging industry veteran, and maintains strong technical expertise in palletization, robotics and end-of-line system solutions. And, Scott Smith was named vice president of sales-Europe, Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Africa, tasked with leading both key account and new equipment sales teams, while continuing to lead the global marketing and business development teams. He joined BW Container Systems in 2014, and has spent more than 20 years in the packaging industry. He started his career with Coca-Cola, and subsequently spent 15 years with Hartness, an ITW company, as a regional sales manager, where he led commercial efforts in the Western United States and Asia-Pacific and developed end-of-line expertise in the food, dairy, wine and spirits, beer and soft drink industries. Eventually, he served in a variety of commercial leadership roles, including vice president, global sales and marketing.

IN MEMORIUM: STEPHEN KING, ESI GROUP USA

Stephen Michael King, regional vice president of ESI Group USA, Hartland, Wis., passed away March 30 from pancreatic cancer. 

A successful mechanical engineer, he enjoyed a long career as regional vice president and program manager for the design and construction of cold storage facilities in the food industry.

King is survived by his wife, Sharon King, his daughters and their spouses, Victoria (Michael) Pottschmidt (née King), Nichole Lizotte, Kristal Delquadri, Rhonda and Dave Brown, and Daralyn Anderson; and his grandchildren Frank Turner, Whitney Turner, Michael Anderson, Eric Anderson, Rachel Anderson, Jessica Grover, Jhordan Grover, Tayler Hagar, Michael O’Neill, Brittney Delquadri, Evelyn and Annika Pottschmidt, and five great grandchildren.