ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:
Colorado Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (CFVGA), Denver, Colo.
Robert Sakata, president of Sakata Farms, was re-elected president; he has been president since 2014. Roger Mix of Mix Farms will serve as vice president, while Glenn Hirakata from Hirakata Farms will serve as secretary. Reid Fishering of Mountain Quality Sweet Corn was re-elected treasurer. David Asbury, owner of Rocky Mountain Pumpkin Ranch/Full Circle Farms, was elected to fill the term of resigning board member Jason Condon. Additional elected members include Grant Mattive of Worley Family Farms, and Jeni Lamb Rogers, associate at Holland and Hart LLP. Mattive, a mechanical engineer by training, also serves as president of the Colorado Certified Potato Growers Association. Lamb Rogers, an attorney, assists agriculture and food clients with regulatory compliance, including the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Re-elected for another 3-year term is Bruce Talbott, orchard and vineyard manager at Talbott Mountain Gold.

Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, Long Beach, Calif.
Suzanne Plezia was promoted to senior director of the Engineering Bureau’s program delivery group. Plezia is the first woman to be chief harbor engineer of the Port of Long Beach. Plezia joined the Port of Long Beach in 1996 as an intern. A licensed civil engineer, she was named to her current position, director of construction management, in December 2014, and has worked in the design, program management and construction management divisions. In 2012, she guided the procurement process for the Gerald Desmond Bridge replacement contract, and managed construction for the recently completed Pier G Container Terminal Re-development project. Meanwhile, Tom Baldwin will oversee the port's capital improvement program, which includes dredging, wharf, terminal, building, railroad, bridge, safety, roadway and utility projects. Baldwin began working for the port in 2002, and was named assistant director of program management in January 2015. He specializes in leading large harbor development projects, including terminal renovations in use by tenants, such as the Middle Harbor Terminal Re-development program. Both appointments are effective April 29.
 
U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY), Tucker, Ga.
Matthew Spencer was appointed director of human resources and safety programs, responsible for the strategic management of certain USPOULTRY technical services, including worker safety, human resources and employment law programs. Previously, Spencer was health safety manager at Smithfield Foods, where he was responsible for establishing safety practices and procedures, conducting comprehensive on-site OSHA and health wellness reviews, maintaining OSHA compliance at five Midwest harvesting/processing sites, etc. Prior to Smithfield Foods, he spent several years with other companies, including Exide Technologies, where he served as director of safety and compliance North America distribution, responsible for managing the environmental, health and safety department in addition to ensuring DOT, OSHA and EHS compliance at 78 locations in the United States, Canada and Mexico.  Spencer is replacing Paul Pressley, who is retiring in spring 2017. Pressley has been USPOULTRY’s executive vice president of industry programs since 2007, and previously served as director of risk management and insurance for Gold Kist, where he spent 26 years.

International Association for Food Protection, Des Moines, Iowa
Dr. Roger Cook was named secretary, and will fulfill a 5-year commitment serving as president, beginning in July 2020. Cook has been manager of food risk assessment for New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), formerly the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA), since 2012, and has been MPI’s principal food microbiologist since 1995. There, he leads New Zealand’s regulatory microbiological food safety risk assessment initiatives, specifically those for STEC and Campylobacter; designs research projects to support development and verification of food safety regulations and to evaluate outcomes and consequences of overseas market access requirements; develops monitoring programs for domestic and export assurances and provides microbiological advice to New Zealand’s domestic and export food industry.

United Fresh Produce Association, Washington, D.C.
Lorelei DiSogra, vice president, nutrition and health, will retire at the end of May. During her tenure, she helped shape federal nutrition policies to increase fruit and vegetable consumption for children and their families. She joined the association in 2005. Previously, Lorelei was the director of the National 5 A Day Program at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, from 2001-2005 and vice president of nutrition at Dole Food Co. from 1991-2001. Lorelei’s top accomplishments at United Fresh include the expansion of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program to schools in all 50 states, revising WIC Food Packages to include fresh fruits and vegetables as recommended by the Institute of Medicine and increasing fruits and vegetables in school meals to benefit more than 32 million students a day. And, as one of the creators of Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools, Lorelei worked closely with the Obama White House, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, salad bar founding partners, United Fresh members and health foundations to make salad bars the norm in schools nationwide.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:
SpartanNash, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Tom Lee was named senior vice president, supply chain, effective May 1, responsible for developing and implementing strategies for supply chain management, with a focus on enhancing and expanding the company’s network to support customers’ growth initiatives while improving efficiency and reducing cost. Lee will oversee SpartanNash’s supply chain, logistics, transportation and inventory management departments. Lee has served as vice president, merchandising operations, U.S. e-commerce for Walmart since 2015, where he built out supply chain and merchandising operational functions for the global e-commerce division, overseeing the planning and replenishment for both owned and drop-ship vendors with more than 10,000 suppliers and 26 million unique SKUs across a $1 billion inventory. Prior to that, Lee served as vice president, supply chain innovations, global e-commerce for Walmart. He has also held supply chain leadership positions for Henry Schein and Office Depot, and has been a senior-level consultant for both Ernst & Young and KPMG.

John Vena, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa.
Joseph Gallagher, Jr. joined as chief financial officer, responsible for strengthening financial reporting initiatives and monitoring KPIs during a period of extended growth and expansion of services. Gallagher maintains more than 30 years of experience in accounting and strategic financial planning. During the last six years, he has served as a controller at Textron Aviation, and spent nearly a decade with Penske Logistics, where he served as senior financial analyst and finance project manager. Meanwhile, Nora Schmidt was named food safety and quality assurance manager. Schmidt is a quality control and quality assurance professional with experience in the food/beverage and chemical industries, including audit-readiness and development of successful food safety programs, including HACCP plans, inspection programs and environmental monitoring procedures.

SOMMA Foods, Dallas, Texas
Michelle Reitzin-Bass was appointed director of sales for the Western U.S., effective April 29. Reitzin-Bass maintains more than 30 years of experience in foodservice sales and marketing. Previously, she served as director of sales and marketing at Buena Vista Foods, responsible for the success of 350 K-12 accounts. She also played a key role in the growth and sales success of Integrated Food Service and Don Lee Farms. Reitzin-Bass also served as an industry advisor to the California School Nutrition Association, and maintains memberships to the School Nutrition Association, California Restaurant Association and American Commodity Distribution Association.

Tyson Foods, Inc., Springdale, Ark.
Justin Whitmore was named to the newly-created role of chief sustainability officer, effective May 1, tasked with providing leadership and direction that helps the company achieve its strategic intent of sustainably feeding the world, and implementing solutions that drive impact on all dimensions of sustainability. Whitmore was most recently a consultant at McKinsey & Co., where he developed innovative solutions to address sustainability issues while considering operational complexity, consumer demand, market share growth and financial discipline. Whitmore’s experience includes consulting on strategy, operations and sustainability for food processing, consumer packaged goods and foodservice companies. Whitmore has held several consulting and executive positions at Strategy& (formerly Booz & Co.) and Johnson Controls.

Empire Co. Ltd., Canada
Michael Vels was named executive vice president and CFO of Empire and its wholly-owned subsidiary Sobeys Inc., effective June 12. Vels was most recently chief financial officer of Hydro One, where he played an instrumental role in that organization’s IPO in 2015. From 2004-2014, he served as chief financial officer of Maple Leaf Foods, where he led the company's finance, mergers and acquisitions, information technology and communications functions. In 2014, he became Maple Leaf Foods’ chief transition officer, where he led the restructuring of senior management and back office functions. Clinton Keay, who has served as interim chief financial officer since July 2016, will assume the role of executive vice president, technology and lead of the transformation office. Keay served as the company’s head of IT from 2002-2014 before being appointed executive vice president, finance. Meanwhile, Jason Potter was appointed executive vice president, operations, responsible for driving in-store execution and efficiency across grocery banners and regions. Lyne Castonguay was appointed executive vice president, merchandising, responsible for determining the suite of products and programs the company offers to drive gross margin across grocery banners and regions. Pierre St-Laurent was appointed executive vice president, Quebec, working to ensure consistent processes, ways of working and one voice to vendors nationwide. Vivek Sood was appointed executive vice president, related businesses, to facilitate a sharp focus on the pharmacy, wholesale, fuel, convenience and liquor businesses.

The Kroger Co., Cincinnati
Kristal Howard was named head of corporate communications and media relations, responsible for national media and corporate communications as well as serving as the company's spokesperson. Howard has been serving as public relations manager for Kroger's Dallas and Houston divisions since 2010.

Vital Farms, Austin, Texas
Tricia Clark was named vice president of operations, responsible for leading the company’s operations network, initially focusing on the startup of the company’s new Springfield, Mo., processing facility. Clark maintains extensive experience in plant and business management and sustainability, including recycling, energy and landfill-free efforts. Previously, Clark spent over 20 years at the Kraft-Heinz Co., including 12 years in Springfield, Mo.

Stater Bros. Markets, San Bernardino, Calif.
John Ciraulo was promoted to senior vice president fresh foods, responsible for overseeing and managing the interplay between the company’s perishable departments to expand its fresh food offerings. Ciraulo has been with Stater Bros. for over 31 years, progressing through a range of retail and marketing positions. He joined Stater Bros. in 1986 as a meat clerk, and was promoted in 1988 to apprentice meat cutter. In 1990, he was promoted to meat department manager, as retail meat supervisor in 1999 and to buyer/merchandiser in the marketing department in 2007. In 2010, Ciraulo was promoted to director marketing meat division, and in 2014 he was promoted to his most recent position, vice president meat division.

Conagra Brands, Inc., Chicago
Barry Calpino joined as vice president of innovation, focusing on driving rapid innovation and growth across Conagra's portfolio of brands. An integral part of the company's Growth Center of Excellence, he will be responsible for the direction and success of cross-functional teams made up of consumer insights, marketing, R&D, packaging and design. Calpino was most recently vice president, global platform innovation at Mondelez, where he drove breakthrough initiatives, including creation, development and launch of the new Véa brand. Previously, he was vice president of breakthrough innovation at Kraft Foods Group, where Kraft doubled its innovation rate in three years. Calpino is also an adjunct professor of marketing, teaching innovation at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

Farmer Bros. Co., Northlake, Texas
Guenter Berger and Hamideh Assadi will not seek re-election to the board of directors at the end of their terms in December. After immigrating to the United States in 1956, Berger served in the U.S. Army. After two years of service, he accepted a job with the company’s Brewmatic division, where he was promoted several times and worked his way up to the position of general manager, then to vice president of production at Brewmatic, as well as a director of Farmer Bros. Berger’s loyalty and dedication to the business culminated in his appointment to president, CEO and chairman of the board of directors in 2005. Following his retirement in 2007, Berger continued as chairman and a member of the board of directors. Assadi joined Farmer Bros. in 1985, having served in various roles for over 23 years, including tax manager, cost accounting manager, assistant to corporate secretary and in production and inventory control before her retirement in 2007.

Captiva Verde Industries Ltd., Canada
Mike Boyd and Jeff Ciachurski announced their resignations as directors of the company, effective immediately.

Albertsons Cos., Boise, Idaho
Jewel-Osco’s current vice president of marketing and merchandising Doug Cygan was appointed division president, effective immediately. In this role, Cygan will lead the company’s 186 Jewel-Osco stores throughout Illinois, Indiana and Iowa. He replaces Mike Withers, who was promoted to executive vice president, retail operations, East region. Cygan’s retail career began at Jewel Osco in April 1980 as a part-time clerk, and moved into roles of greater responsibility, including store director, marketing director, vice president of fresh merchandising and vice president of grocery merchandising. He was named to his current position in 2011. He also serves on the board of directors for the Greater Chicago Area Food Bank and the Northern Illinois Food Bank.

Impossible Foods, Redwood City, Calif.
Food industry veteran Chris Gregg was appointed senior vice president of supply chain and manufacturing, effective immediately, to oversee operations for manufacturing and supply chain as the company expands. Gregg maintains more than 20 years of experience in the food industry, both at startups and at global corporations. Just before joining Impossible Foods, Gregg worked for a private equity firm, where he served as the chief operating officer of Babyganics, Solid Gold Pet and Bare Snacks brands, leading their operations and supply chains. He previously worked as vice president, international sales for a division of Safeway Inc. He also spent time at Del Monte Foods Inc., where he oversaw procurement, external manufacturing and manufacturing commercialization and led and developed manufacturing joint ventures and partnerships.

lēf Farms, Loudon, N.H.
Kyle Scamman was named production manager, responsible for running the growing and harvesting system, while working through updates and process improvements. He will also be accountable for coordinating production schedules and implementing the company’s food safety plan, with a focus on maintaining an efficient use of resources and producing a clean and safe product. Scamman maintains 17 years of farming and growing experience. Previously, he served in the company’s maintenance department, so he understands the facility inside and out—from heating line installation to the design of the watering and fog system.

Kettle Cuisine, Lynn, Mass.
Mike Illum was appointed executive vice president of sales. Illum has held a variety of sales leadership roles, including nine years at Campbell's Soup Co., and most recently, at Keurig Green Mountain where he was responsible for the grocery, drug and dollar store channels. Also, Jeremy Kacuba was named chief operating officer, responsible for leading the company’s operations across its bi-coastal manufacturing footprint. Kacuba brings extensive operations and engineering experience with a focus on high-growth environments with companies such as General Mills, Snyders Lance, SunOpta, Leprino Foods and Chobani.

General Mills, Minneapolis
Jeffrey Harmening was elected chief executive officer, effective June 1, succeeding Ken Powell, who has served as chairman and CEO since 2007. Harmening is a 23-year veteran of the company, and has served as president and COO since July 1, 2016. During Harmening's leadership of the U.S. retail business, the company greatly expanded its position in the natural and organic segment, including the acquisition of Annie's and EPIC Provisions. While president of the company's U.S. cereal business, Harmening led a realignment of the portfolio that resulted in multiple years of growth in sales, market share and profitability. As chief executive officer of Cereal Partners Worldwide (CPW), Harmening oversaw a reorganization of the company that positioned it to deliver long-term profitable growth. Harmening joined General Mills in 1994 and has served in a variety of roles, including senior vice president, chief executive officer of CPW; executive vice president, COO, U.S. retail; vice president and senior vice president of the Big G cereal division and a variety of marketing roles in Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Foodservice and Big G new enterprises.

Publix Super Markets Inc., Lakeland, Fla.
John Provenzano will be joining as vice president of government relations, effective June 12, responsible for the company’s local, state and federal government affairs, as well as its political action committee. Currently, Provenzano is executive director of the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST), responsible for overseeing all association activities, including membership, conference planning and government affairs and re-establishing NAST’s 501(c)(3) foundation. Before joining NAST, he was government affairs director for Delta Air Lines.

The Schwan Food Co., Marshall, Minn.
Tony Puri was named executive vice president of SFC Global Supply Chain, Inc., a subsidiary of Schwan’s Co., responsible for the strategic direction and performance of the company’s manufacturing facilities and distribution centers. Puri takes over for Doug Olsem, who accepted a newly created position leading Schwan’s sourcing, contract partner sales business, travel and real estate teams. Puri brings more than 30 years of food industry experience. He most recently served as vice president of global manufacturing for CSM Bakery Solutions, where he was responsible for the operations of 34 manufacturing facilities and quality and engineering teams worldwide. Prior to CSM, he worked in leadership and general management roles with several global companies. He started his career with Ralston Purina before progressing to other leadership roles with Cadbury, Warner Lambert, Kraft and Mondelez International.

Redner’s Markets, Inc., Reading, Pa.
Ryan Redner was named president and CEO, succeeding his father Richard Redner. Ryan will assume leadership of all Redners Warehouse Markets, Redners Quick Shoppes, corporate office, warehouse and the more than 400 associates and employee owners. Richard will continue his role as chairman of the board, and assume the role of senior vice president of strategic planning. Ryan joined the company in 1995, and in 1999, was appointed director of direct-store delivery operations. He was promoted to the board of directors in 2004, and named chief operating officer in 2007.

Land O'Lakes, Inc., Arden Hills, Minn.
Yone Dewberry was promoted to chief supply chain officer, effective May 15, charged with overall supply chain operations across the enterprise. Dewberry, a 9-year veteran of Land O'Lakes, took on an expanded role last winter as the company evolved the structure of the supply chain team. He joined Land O'Lakes in 2008 as director of dairy planning, and currently serves as senior vice president – supply chain and procurement. He also spent 12 years working as a supply chain consultant with BDP International and KPMG and 15 years with Kraft Foods, Corning Glass and ARCO. Dewberry also maintains hands-on indirect leadership plant positions in Kraft plants, including Entenmann's Bakery.

Bonafide Provisions, San Diego, Calif.
John Wahl, veteran food and beverage executive, joined as vice president of sales, responsible for spearheading strategic growth and channel expansion for the brand’s core line of frozen bone broths and new Drinkable Veggies. He will also oversee the company’s nationwide sales, including business operations, shipping methods, logistics and more. He has served as director of national sales for Mamma Chia from 2011-2014.Wahl brings more than 20 years of experience to his new role, and maintains extensive experience in transforming startups into household brands prior to acquisition. Previous roles include national sales director at Odwalla Juices and Northwest regional manager of PowerBar.

Schnuck Markets, Inc., St. Louis, Mo.
David Peacock was named president and COO, tasked with managing procurement/merchandising, operations, marketing/communications and supply chain for the 100-store company. Previously, Peacock managed U.S. operations for Anheuser-Busch, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, from 2008-2012, and was responsible for the commercial success of Anheuser-Busch during its integration with InBev in the United States. In 2008, Peacock led the negotiating team for Anheuser-Busch during the merger with InBev. He joined Anheuser-Busch in 1992, and served many roles in management, finance and marketing. At various times, he also led the financial planning, mergers and acquisitions, information technology, procurement and route-to-market development as well as several groups within marketing. In 2007, he was named vice president of marketing for Anheuser-Busch.

FOODSERVICE:
Subway, Inc., Milford, Conn.
Karlin Linhardt joined as senior vice president of marketing for North America, responsible for brand management and the guest experience at more than 30,000 Subway restaurants in the United States and Canada. Linhardt will oversee North America marketing teams and core disciplines, including advertising, media planning and execution, menu innovation and development, research and analytics, corporate social responsibility and tactical events and sponsorships. Linhardt most recently served as a senior consultant for Accenture, working on Subway's brand evolution in conjunction with Accenture's design and construction of the Subway Digital platform. He also brings extensive brand-side restaurant industry experience, including 10 years each at McDonald's, where he led the turnaround of the $5 billion U.S. happy meal/family segment, and Anheuser-Busch. Since 2011, he has served on the board of directors for Perkins and Marie Callender's Restaurants.

TGI Fridays, Dallas, Texas
Aslam Khan was named chief executive officer, replacing John Antioco, who will continue in his former role as a member of the board of directors. Khan is a veteran restaurant executive, who has spent the past 18 years as chairman of Falcon Holdings, owner of Churchs Chicken, Hardees, Carl’s Jr., Long John Silver’s and Piccadilly. In 1999, Khan partnered with Sentinel Capital Partners to purchase 97 Churchs Chicken restaurants. Since then, Falcon has grown more than fivefold.

Yum China Holdings, Inc., China
Jacky Lo was appointed interim chief financial officer, effective June 1, replacing Edwin "Ted" Stedem, who is resigning as chief financial officer for personal and family reasons. Lo is vice president, controller and principal accounting officer, and will continue to serve in this position alongside the role as interim CFO. Lo joined Yum! Restaurants China in August 2016 as vice president, finance. Prior to joining YUM, Lo worked for Ernst & Young for 15 years, including most recently as partner and the deputy director in the Asia Pacific Capital Markets Center of Ernst & Young's Professional Practice Group, specializing in U.S. accounting principles, SEC reporting and Sarbanes Oxley compliance requirements.

SUPPLIERS:
Master-Bilt, New Albany, Miss.
Tom Machingo joined as vice president of operations, charged with overseeing all aspects related to safety, manufacturing and operational excellence, and working to maximize company efficiency through operational improvements and improving job safety. Machingo maintains many years of experience of operational experience, including lean manufacturing, engineering, production, new plant startup expansions, production control, machining, metal fabrication and processing. Before joining Master-Bilt, he was senior director of operations for Unified Brands, and after that, went on to become the vice president of manufacturing at Ice-O-Matic for nine years, where he provided strategic decision support to modernize manufacturing equipment and processes.

Winpak Ltd., Canada
Olivier Muggli was appointed president and CEO, taking over for Bruce Berry, who is retiring, effective Aug. 1. Berry has been with Winpak for 41 years, spending the last 14 as president and CEO. Muggli joined Winpak six years ago, and is currently vice president and COO. Prior to joining Winpak, Muggli's career encompassed various senior management roles, both in Europe and North America, including vice president and managing director of Alcan's food packaging division.

Norfolk Southern Corp. (NS), Norfolk, Va.
Marta Stewart, executive vice president and CFO, announced her intention to retire, effective Aug. 1. Since joining NS in 1983 as an accountant, Stewart has been instrumental in developing the company’s accounting systems and controls. Prior to Stewart’s current position in 2013, she served as vice president accounting and controller and vice president finance and treasurer. Stewart has been a key strategic advisor to the NS CEO, agent for change throughout the company and advocate for NS shareholders. 

The Greenbrier Cos., Inc., Lake Oswego, Ore.
Lorie Tekorius was promoted to executive vice president and CFO, responsible for chairing a management committee comprised of key unit heads, with oversight of management policies in capital allocation, operations and technology, strategy, human resources, administration and risk management and more. Tekorius has been with Greenbrier for 22 years in various financial capacities, including her most recent position of senior vice president and CFO. Meanwhile, Justin Roberts was promoted to vice president, corporate finance and treasurer, responsible for all treasury functions, annual plan development, financial projection activities and investor relations. Roberts has held roles of progressively increasing responsibility on Greenbrier's corporate finance team during his 11-year tenure with the company.  He was most recently the assistant vice president corporate finance and assistant treasurer.

Ward Transport and Logistics Corp., Altoona, Pa.
Mike Moss joined as chief operating officer. Moss maintains over 30 years of experience in the transportation industry. He started his career as a dock worker, and has moved through various senior leadership roles in sales and operations. His leadership roles included a variety of positions from service center manager and director and vice president of operations, vice president of sales and president and CEO of Fed Ex Freight West. In addition, Moss has worked as the senior vice president of international development for FedEx Freight System, as well as the vice president of logistics solutions for Southeastern Freight Lines. Most recently, he worked as the senior vice president operations for ABF Freight.

Cloverleaf Cold Storage, Sioux City, Iowa
Bruce Meilhammer was named plant manager of the company's Sanford, N.C., warehouse and meat processing facility. Meilhammer maintains extensive experience in food production, logistics and warehousing, having worked in management roles for Purdue Farms and Lineage Logistics.

Navistar International Corp., Lisle, Ill.
Phil Christman was promoted to president, operations, effective immediately, responsible for procurement, product development, manufacturing and supply chain. Christman has been with Navistar for nearly 30 years, where he has held leadership roles in engineering, led Navistar's severe service and global businesses, ran the company's procurement and supply chain functions, and most recently, served as senior vice president, joint strategic operations and planning, where he led benchmarking initiatives and developed a strategy that led to Navistar's alliance with Volkswagen Truck & Bus.

Fristam Pumps USA, Middleton, Wis.
Sarah Ostrander joined as an application engineer, responsible for providing in-house and in-field technical support and customer service, including product quotes and troubleshooting. And, Jason Lyle joined as a design engineer, responsible for new product design, product testing, process improvement and engineering support. Lyle maintains 20 years of mechanical design, product design and manufacturing experience.

Tompkins International, Raleigh, N.C.
Mike Futch was named executive vice president, responsible for leading the design and deployment of Tompkins Robotics. Futch has been with Tompkins International for 25 years helping lead the supply chain consulting group. Responsibilities entailed project execution positions at all levels of engagements, including sales, account management and project management. Areas of expertise include due diligence, network strategy, transportation, DC retrofit design and Greenfield DC development and implementation. He has also directed numerous projects from feasibility through start-up for retail, consumer products and wholesale distribution clients, including Abbott Labs, Advance Auto Parts, Coty, Ford, Gap, Hershey, Ingram Book, Kraft, Levi Strauss, Lipton, Merck, Phillip Morris, Polo Ralph Lauren, Revlon, Tailored Brands, Teva Pharmaceutical, TJX Cos. and more. Previously, Futch worked for Deloitte Consulting, Garr Consulting and the United States Air Force.

Welbilt, Inc., New Port Richey, Fla.
Haresh Shah was promoted to senior vice president and CFO, effective immediately, taking over for John Stewart, who will be retiring May 5. Shah joined Welbilt in June 2016 as vice president, corporate controller and chief accounting officer. Prior to Welbilt, he was vice president, corporate controller for Syniverse Technologies Inc. from 2012 to June 2016. Before Syniverse, he held various financial leadership roles at Amkor Technology, Inc. from 2008-2012 and Alcatel-Lucent S.A. from 2000-2008. From 1995-2000, he was an audit manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

Motion Controls Robotics, Fremont, Ohio
Earl Raynal Jr. returned as a sales development manager, responsible for new customer acquisitions in North America. Raynal will also hold the role of regional sales manager for Michigan and Ontario territories, effective May 1. Raynal maintains extensive sales, project management and engineering experience in the material handling industry, including business development experience in integration of robot systems, automatic guided vehicle systems and other automated material handling systems. Raynal has also held various roles within the AGV product section of Material Handling Industry of America.

McLane Co., Inc., Temple, Texas
Vito Maurici was promoted to senior vice president of sales, responsible for all aspects of McLane’s national sales team. Maurici, who joined the company in June 2016 as vice president of sales for the convenience, military and travel business, will now be responsible for additional trade areas, including mass market retailers, drug stores, club stores and supermarkets. Prior to joining McLane, Maurici was senior vice president of sales and distribution at NJOY, vice president of sales for the Southwest for Altria and led trade-marketing efforts at Philip Morris International for the Central Europe, Middle East and Africa regions.

IN MEMORIUM: GARY JONES, IOWA COLD STORAGE

Gary Jones, managing director for Iowa Cold Storage, LLC, Altoona, Iowa, passed away in his sleep April 12.

Jones was a long-time faculty member at the WFLO Institute, part of the Global Cold Chain Alliance.

Jones previously served as police officer before moving to Florida, Texas and Chicago, where he worked in several temperature-controlled warehouses.

IN MEMORIUM: ROBERT ERKINS, NATIONAL FISHERIES INSTITUTE

Robert Erkins, former chairman of National Fisheries Institute, Washington, D.C., passed away April 26.

Erkins embraced a global view of the seafood community, and created what is said to be the largest trout company in the world.

He is survived by his wife Barnee, his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.