ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:
Produce Marketing Association (PMA), Newark, Del.
Andrés Rodríguez was elected to be the association’s new representative in Chile, responsible for supporting PMA’s global development objectives in Chile, including member recruiting and retention, organizing events and programs and advising PMA on ways to create greater value for Chilean members. Rodríguez maintains 14 years of professional experience, including nine years working for fruit associations. Most recently, he served seven years as executive director of Chilean Walnut Commission and Chile Prunes, organizations he still advises. He also served as marketing manager for North America and Latin America with the fresh fruit exporters association of Chile (ASOEX), and worked at a relationship marketing agency, where he was responsible for supervising marketing campaigns and creating news businesses for the agency. In addition, he managed global sales for a glass manufacturer for three years, overseeing domestic sales and exports to the United States, Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Argentina and other markets.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:
Beyond Meat, El Segundo, Calif.
Charles (Chuck) Muth was appointed chief growth officer, effective May 30, responsible for driving distribution and growth of Beyond Meat’s products at retail and foodservice. Previously, Muth was senior vice president of sales of Coca-Cola Co., where he led the creation of its Venturing and Emerging Brands (VEB) sales organization to nurture a portfolio of entrepreneurial brand. There, he also achieved revenue growth of over 200%from 2014-16. He also led Honest Beverages as vice president of sales, where he tripled growth between 2010-2013. Prior to Honest, Muth managed a team of over 450 as vice president of sales and marketing for Philadelphia Coca Cola Bottling Co.

Baloian Farms, Fresno, Calif.
Bridget Van Beek was named food safety coordinator. Van Beek began her career at Baloian Farms in 2016 as a quality control and food safety intern, where she gained hands-on produce experience. Carlos Hernandez was appointed safety manager. Hernandez has been with Baloian Farms since November 2016. He maintains extensive knowledge of safety applications from his 13 years of warehousing experience. And, Reiley Johnstone was tapped as sales and logistics assistant.

Ventura Foods, Brea, Calif.
John Buckles was named to the newly created role of chief operating officer, effective June 1, responsible for leading an integrated commercial and operations function. Buckles joined Ventura Foods in 2011, was previously the executive vice president of sales and marketing, where he led all sales, marketing, R&D and culinary activities in the United States, as well as the company's international division. Before joining Ventura Foods, Buckles held management, sales and marketing leadership roles at PepsiCo, Kellogg's and Coca-Cola.

The Kroger Co., Cincinnati
Sukanya Madlinger, senior vice president of retail divisions, announced plans to retire June 19 after 31 years of service. Madlinger joined Kroger in 1986 as a store management trainee in the Cincinnati/Dayton division, and has held a variety of leadership positions in stores and merchandising. In 2003, she was named vice president of drug/general merchandise/pharmacy merchandising and procurement. She returned to the Cincinnati/Dayton division in 2008 as vice president of merchandising, and was promoted to lead the division as president in 2010. She was promoted to her current role in 2015. As a result, Calvin Kaufman will serve as senior vice president of retail stores. Kaufman joined Kroger in 1994 in the Fred Meyer logistics group, and served Fred Meyer in several different logistics roles, including group vice president of Fred Meyer logistics. Kaufman went on to serve in several leadership roles with Kroger's logistics team before being named president of Kroger manufacturing and corporate brands in 2008. He was named to his current role as president of the Louisville, Ky., division in 2013. Also, Ann Reed was promoted to president of Kroger's Louisville division. Reed currently serves as vice president, Customer 1^st Promise. She began her career with Kroger as a co-manager in the company's Central division in 1993. She has since served in a number of leadership positions in divisions and at Kroger's general office, including store manager, category manager, deli/bakery merchandiser, director of deli/bakery and director of fresh ready meals. Reed was promoted to vice president of merchandising at Fry's in 2010, followed by vice president of merchandising at Fred Meyer in 2013. She was named to her current position in 2015.

Allen Harim, Seaford, Del.
Harry Tillman was promoted to director of sales and marketing. Tillman joined the company in January as senior director of business development, and has spent the bulk of his career at Smithfield Foods, where he held various roles, including general manager of the deli group, and most recently, senior director of sales. Paul Timlin joined as a business development manager. Timlin maintains almost 30 years’ experience in consumer food product sales, sales management, marketing, merchandising and customer service. He has spent the past 10 years with Smithfield Foods as sales manager for the deli group and then the retail processed meats. Prior to that, he was sales director for the Eastern division in the retail deli division of Oscar Mayer and Tyson Foods. Mark Rutter joined as a business development manager, responsible for growing the Nature’s Sensation No Antibiotic Ever product line. Rutter maintains more than 25 years of sales experience in retail and foodservice, primarily at Smithfield Packing. He also worked for National Beef Packing Co., Windy City Food Brands Brokerage, and most recently, at Cargill. Michael Hernandez joined the sales team from another department within Allen Harim. He is a retired Air Force veteran who served as a police officer, Air Force recruiting manager and trainer and marketing specialist. Lastly, Nicole Hall joined as an account manager. 

Cascade Specialties, Boardman, Ore., and White Oak Frozen Foods, Merced, Calif.
Pamela Vaillancourt was promoted to director of sales, North America, responsible for sales of both the White Oak Frozen Foods line of reduced moisture “ready-to-eat” roasted and conventional vegetables and the line of dehydrated low bacteria onion products produced by Cascade Specialties. Vaillancourts’ prior experiences include account manager for White Oak and Cascade, industrial technical sales of food ingredients, business development for clients utilizing consumer and sensory research, product development, regulatory services and quality control, and managerial roles in quality assurance and product development for the foodservice sector.

ARYZTA AG, Switzerland
Kevin Toland was appointed chief executive officer. Toland has served as chief executive for daa plc, which operates Dublin and Cork airports, ARI and daa International since 2013. Before that, he was chief executive and president of Glanbia USA and Global Nutritionals, and was a member of the Glanbia plc board of directors from 2003-2013. Toland maintains an established track record of managing multiple stakeholder groups. He also held a number of other senior roles at Glanbia plc, including group development director; chief executive of consumer foods; and director of strategy and marketing. Before joining Glanbia plc, he held a number of senior management positions with Coca Cola Bottlers in Russia and with Grand Metropolitan in Ireland and Central Europe.

The Vanguard International Group, Issaquah, Wash.
Brian Birdsall was named president of Pride Packing Co. Birdsall brings over 30 years of senior Washington state fruit industry management experience, including CEO and CFO responsibilities. Byron Ihnen was appointed vice president, marketing and sales of Pride Packing Co. Ihnen maintains deep industry experience, having served in senior roles at Yakima Fresh, PAC Marketing and Hansen Fruit.

FOODSERVICE:
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Denver, Colo.
Scott Boatwright was appointed chief restaurant officer, effective May 30, tasked with overseeing the company’s nearly 2,300 North American restaurants. Boatwright comes from Arby’s Restaurant Group, where he served as senior vice president of operations, responsible for the success and performance of nearly 2,000 franchised and company-owned restaurants across 22 states. Specifically, he was responsible for operational standards, building and developing teams, delivering an excellent guest experience and strategic planning to support the company’s overall annual operating plan. Boatwright began his career at Arby’s in 1997, and has held a variety of leadership and executive positions during his tenure with the company.

SUPPLIERS:
Bunting Magnetics Co., Newton, Kan.
David Bocanegra was appointed as the newest member of the international sales team, supporting existing customers and generating sales throughout Mexico. Bocanegra maintains 10 years of sales and engineering experience. His focus will be face-to-face customer contact, identifying and training distributors and providing on-site customer support and advice on solving metal contamination problems. Previously, Bocanegra held a senior sales position for a multinational corporation focused in the packaging industry, where he was responsible for sales and promotion of electronic inspection equipment as well as developing initiatives to support sales strategies and activities.

Master-Bilt, New Albany, Miss.
Chris Karssiens joined as vice president of sales, charged with developing and executing a commercial strategy to achieve core growth and expand new business opportunities. Karssiens will also be instrumental in sales funnel management, key account planning and 80/20 business processes. Karssiens has been in the foodservice industry his entire career, including the last 18 years with Enodis, Manitowoc and Welbilt. Before joining Master-Bilt, he served as managing director in Asia Pacific for seven years.

VersaCold Logistics Services, Canada
Michele (Mike) Arcamone was appointed chief operating officer, effective April 17. Arcamone maintains 36 years of experience in production, operations, quality management, supply chain, executive leadership, engineering and general management. Most recently, he was president of the commercial aircraft division of Bombardier. His extensive background also includes several senior executive roles such as president and CEO of General Motors Korea; vice president of the Powertrain Europe division for General Motors; and a number of plant manager roles.

Morrison Express, El Segundo, Calif.
Ron Krajniak joined as vice president and general manager, Americas region. For over 30 years, Krajniak has worked in various senior leadership positions at a leading global logistics provider. His responsibilities have ranged from local and area management to regional and enterprise operations and process improvement.

Partner Logistics, UK
Rob Cafano was promoted to site manager at Wisbech coldstore, responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the site. Previously employed as operations manager at Wisbech, Cafano has been with Partner Logistics since 2010. Before that, he was a transport manager for a waste company.

Primex Plastics Corp., Richmond, Ind.
Theresa Vanna was named print market specialist, responsible for developing new market opportunities for printable materials, including polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, Cor-x twin-wall extrusions and Bubble-X. Vanna maintains over 30 years of printing industry experience in both flexible and rigid plastic sheet and films. Previously, she was a business director at Transilwrap Co., where she was responsible for the creation and expansion of markets for printable media. Since 1987, she has served the graphic arts industry as a resource for printable materials for point of purchase, point of sale and in-store environment applications. Vanna also serves on the board of directors of the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership.