ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:
International Association for Food Protection (IAFP), Des Moines, Iowa
Dr. Mickey Parish assumed the role of president. Parish has been a senior science advisor in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (U.S. FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) since 2009, where he maintained oversight responsibilities for the CFSAN research enterprise and addressed issues related to science policy. He was also involved in the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). He has been an IAFP member since 1984, and has served on several committees, including as an editorial board member for the Journal of Food Protection since 2003 and on the Program Committee from 2011-2014. He also served as co-chair of the Microbial Modelling and Risk Assessment Professional Development Group (PDG) and as vice chair of the Food Law PDG. In addition, Parish has organized and/or convened several IAFP symposia on topics such as food safety risk ranking, pathogen data sharing and safe food handling.
The National Grocers Association (NGA), Arlington, Va.
Laura Strange was promoted to vice president of industry relations, communications and marketing, responsible for developing and implementing NGA’s strategy on a broad range of industry relations initiatives; she will also continue her role as senior director of industry relations, communications and marketing. Strange joined NGA in fall 2013, coming from Capitol Hill, where she served as communications director for Representative Bob Latta (OH-5), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Prior to working on Capitol Hill, she held positions in the government affairs department for Yahoo! Inc. and in the communications and marketing division for a state taxpayer trade association.
The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, Long Beach, Calif.
Lou Anne Bynum was elected new board president. Appointed to the commission in May 2014, Bynum is executive vice president of college advancement and economic development for Long Beach City College. Tracy Egoscue was elected vice president. Egoscue, an environmental attorney, was appointed to the commission in September 2014. Lori Ann Guzmán was named secretary of the board. Guzmán has served as board president for the past 2 years. Former state assembly member and former Long Beach City Council member Bonnie Lowenthal and former Long Beach City Council member Frank Colonna were also appointed to the board of directors, taking over for Rich Dines and Doug Drummond, both who have served on the commission since 2011. All appointments became effective July 24.
PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:
OK Foods, Inc., Fort Smith, Ark.
Randy Meyers was promoted to the newly created position of chief operating officer. Previously, Meyers served as senior vice president of sales and marketing. Meyers joined OK Foods in July 2014. He brings more than 25 years of industry experience to the new role.
NORPAC Foods, Inc., Salem, Ore.
Richard Munekiyo was hired as chief financial officer. Munekiyo brings more than three decades of progressive financial leadership, including significant expertise in process manufacturing and industrial distribution. Most recently, he served for 7 years as senior director of finance and interim CFO at Darigold.
Flowers Foods, Thomasville, Ga.
J.T. Rieck, vice president of investor relations and financial analysis, was promoted to treasurer, overseeing the company’s banking and credit agency relations, cash management and forecasting, treasury policies, capital structure and strategic research, while continuing his investor relations and financial analysis duties. Rieck joined Flowers as managing director of investor relations and financial analysis in 2014, and was promoted to vice president of investor relations in 2016. He previously worked as a tax attorney in private practice, and was director of research and a senior analyst at an investment advisory firm.
Hostess Brands, Inc., Kansas City, Mo.
Stuart Wilcox, senior vice president and COO of Hostess Brands, Inc., will resign effective Aug. 11. Prior to joining Hostess in October 2015, he was senior vice president of operations at Golden State Foods; senior vice president of operations for The Original Cakerie; senior vice president of operations for Chiquita/Fresh Express; director of operations for Kens Foods; and director of operational excellence for ConAgra Foods.
SUPPLIERS:
Tippmann Innovation (TI), Fort Wayne, Ind.
Nick Pacitti joined the supply chain and pre-construction segment, and will also head TI’s cold chain management consulting practice. A seasoned food industry executive, Pacitti maintains over 35 years of extensive experience in designing, developing and delivering food logistics solutions, and brings a mix of advisory talent and practical experience necessary in leading large scale efforts. Pacitti has held senior management roles with Kraft and Nestlé, where he designed and reengineered a host of supply chain initiatives supporting growth and new product launches. Prior to TI, he built a consulting firm, where he managed over 300 operations management projects for close to 100 clients. He also developed and implemented a number of fresh food channel strategies for leading retailers, and designed a Food Safety and Sanitation Audit (FSSA), a Vendor Certification Audit (VCA) and the Cold Chain Assessment and Certification (CCA) for leading retailers and food distribution companies. He was chairman of the Food Logistics Technical Subcommittee and a member of the Technical Advisory Committee for the Food Marketing Institute and their Safe Quality Food Institute, where he guided the development of food logistics and quality practices in concert with leading retailers, 3PLs and food processors. Furthermore, Pacitti co-founded the Integrated Food Chain Center (IFC) at Georgia Tech and their Supply Chain and Logistics Institute to develop industry standards and influence policy and regulations in the safe handling of perishable foods. As a senior lecturer, he teaches a cold chain management course at Georgia Tech. Meanwhile, Kristine Grudis was appointed director of QF+ (quick freeze). For nearly 25 years, Grudis has been involved with the food/beverage, pharmaceutical, 3PL and industrial vertical markets with an emphasis on temperature-controlled building solutions. She’s also developed and maintained key strategic accounts with the likes of Nestlé, Sysco Food Service, Target, Costco and more.
TricorBraun Design & Engineering Group, Oak Brook, Ill.
Collin Akemann joined as industrial designer, tasked with designing and developing custom rigid packaging solutions for TricorBraun's consumer packaged goods (CPG) brand owners worldwide. Akemann began his career as a freelance product designer, developing concepts for the retail, hospitality, entertainment, gaming and CPG industries. Before that, he served as a design intern at John Deere and Co., Abbott Nutrition and Labs and Bump Nonprofit Design Studio.
Coherix, Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich.
Philip Rice II joined the board of directors, effective immediately. Rice is chairman of the board and CFO of Zivo Bioscience, Inc., and managing partner and founder of Legacy Results. Prior to founding Legacy Results in 2001, Rice held various leadership positions such as chief operating officer at Stahl’s Inc., chief financial officer at Gallagher-Kaiser Corp., and president and CFO at Speedy International Inc. He started his professional career at Deloitte & Touche, where he became a certified public accountant in 1979.
Johnson Controls, Milwaukee, Wis.
Michael Bartschat, vice president of the Johnson Controls Operating System (JCOS), will also take on the role of chief procurement officer, responsible for leading the majority of the JCOS functions, including engineering, procurement, manufacturing, supply chain and environment, health and safety. He will also maintain overall responsibility for the continuous improvement and real estate functions. Bartschat is also the integration leader for the merger between Johnson Controls and Tyco, responsible for realizing growth opportunities and delivering the value inherent in the combination of the two companies. Bartschat succeeds Jeff Williams, who moved on to lead the company's buildings business in Europe, Middle East and Latin America. Bartschat joined Johnson Controls in 2004, and has held various leadership roles at the company. Prior to being named CPO, Bartschat served as group vice president and general manager of product group metals and mechanisms in the company's automotive seating business. Before that, Bartschat led the global product group trim and fabrics, driving the expansion of the automotive business into Asia. Earlier in his career, Bartschat held roles in operations and plant management, marketing, strategic planning and engineering. He also holds a U.S. patent in robotics.
CBRE, Los Angeles
David Egan, a 20-year veteran of real estate analysis and research, was appointed global head of industrial and logistics research. Egan joined CBRE in 2013, and was named Americas head of industrial and logistics research in 2014. With the new appointment, he adds responsibility for guiding CBRE’s global research on the sector, including reports on topics such as e-commerce fulfillment, automation, development trends and supply chain strategies, as well as advising multinational clients. Prior to joining CBRE, he worked in various executive, advisory and brokerage roles for Ernst & Young, Colliers International and Duke Realty.
Eriez, Erie, Pa.
Ezio Viti was named new sales director at Eriez-Australia. Viti is a mechanical engineer with more than 30 years of experience applying process solutions into the mining, resources recovery, wastewater and general process industries. Previously, he served as a business development consultant, where he assisted local and offshore technology startups as well as overseas suppliers seeking to enter the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) market space. Prior to that, Viti spent 6 years as sales director and CEO of Steinert Australia, where he was responsible for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region in addition to managing the groups’ mining center of excellence.
Menasha Packaging Co., a subsidiary of Menasha Corp., Neenah, Wis.
Michael Riegsecker was named to the newly created position of chief operating officer, overseeing operations, driving efficiencies and focusing on advancing strategic opportunities. Previously, Riegsecker was senior vice president – sales. Since joining Menasha, Riegsecker has held a number of positions of increasing importance in a variety of functions, including production, plant management, sales support, general management and sales management. Riegsecker came to Menasha Packaging from International Paper.
Spirax Sarco, Blythewood, S.C.
Javier Jimena was named president and general manager, responsible for the U.S. business, effective July 17. Jimena brings more than 32 years of experience in leadership roles with demonstrated success in taking businesses to the next level in strategic development. He comes from Spirax Sarco Argentina, where he was the regional general manager, leading Argentina, Chile, Peru and Latin America. Before that, he held a number of general and strategic management positions in Argentina and Brazil.
IN MEMORIUM: LONNIE BO PILGRIM, PILGRIM’S PRIDE
Lonnie Bo Pilgrim, long-time chairman and CEO of Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., Greeley, Colo., passed away at his home July 21 surrounded by family.
Pilgrim is survived by his wife of 61 years, Patty Pilgrim, sons and daughters-in-law Ken and Donna Pilgrim of Pittsburg and Pat and Anne Pilgrim of Lake Creek; daughter and son-in-law Greta and Bill Henson of Dallas; 6 grandchildren: Clayton Pilgrim, Jake Pilgrim, Lonnie Pilgrim, Greta Gail Simpson, Chesley Hindman, and Shelby Owens; 3 great grandchildren: Kate, Emily, and Gracie Hindman; and sister: Sue Hester Kellam of Pittsburg.
He is preceded in death by his parents, brothers: Calvin, Aubrey, Harold and Billy Carroll Pilgrim, and sisters: Betty Carolyn Pilgrim, Mary Kathryn Julian and Margaret Nugent.
The family requests donations be made to American Heart Association, 7272 Greenville Ave., Dallas, TX 75231 or Patty and Bo Pilgrim Cancer Center, 2101 Mulberry Ave., Mt. Pleasant, TX 75455.
IN MEMORIUM: WILLIAM MCCALL, FOOD SCIENTIST
William McCall passed away July 15.
McCall was an accomplished businessman and leader of companies and a food science expert.
He is survived by his wife Marilyn, of 48 years; two sons, William (Pamela Zients) McCall Jr., Stephen (Maureen) McCall; five grandchildren, Madison, Daisy, Aidan, Grace, and Chloe; Siblings, Joan (James) Bergren, Christine (Barry) Lamb, Robert McCall, Michael McCall; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his brother Thomas, and his twin brother Philip McCall.
A private memorial service will be held. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent to the American Cancer Society. Please contact Thompson Spring Grove Funeral Home, Spring Grove, Ill., at 815-675-0550 for further information.
