ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:
International Association for Cold Storage Construction (IACSC), a core partner of the Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA), Alexandria, Va.
Tim Nguyen, regional vice president of ESI Group, was elected to serve as the 2017-2019 chairman of IACSC. Vince Free, project manager at SubZero Constructors, Inc., was elected to serve as vice chairman, and Marko Dzeletovich, president of Coldbox Builders, was named treasurer. Board members elected to 3-year terms include Eric Brown, president/principal of ALTA Refrigeration; Gary O’Donnell, vice president of United Insulated Structures; and Mike Jones, president of Primus Design Services. Board members re-elected to 3-year terms include Steve Mauro, national sales director - controlled environments division U.S. for Kingspan Insulated Panels, and Charles Woolley, vice president of Coldroom Systems.

Fisheries Council of Canada (FCC), Canada
Paul Lansbergen was named new president. Lansbergen maintains over 20 years' experience in public policy, advocacy and association leadership. He spent the last 15 years at the Forest Products Association of Canada, with increasing roles, including a temporary appointment as acting president in 2015-2016. Prior to that, he was manager, communications at the Canadian Fertilizer Institute and a legislative assistant on Parliament Hill. 

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:
BRF, Spain
José Aurélio Drummond Jr. was appointed chief executive officer, effective Jan. 3, 2018, taking over for Pedro de Andrade Faria. Previously, Drummond Jr. has served as executive of Whirlpool, Alcoa and Eneva.

Hy-Vee, Inc., West Des Moines, Iowa
Andy McCann, vice chairman, executive vice president and chief administrative officer, announced his retirement following 41 years of service. McCann started with Hy-Vee in 1976 at the Park Avenue Hy-Vee as a part-time clerk. He worked through the ranks, and was promoted to second assistant manager at the Marshalltown, Iowa, Hy-Vee in 1983. In 1985, he was promoted to assistant manager at the Williamsburg Hy-Vee in Lincoln, Neb., opening what was at the time the largest store in the company. McCann received his first store director assignment in 1989 at the Fort Street Hy-Vee in Omaha, Neb., followed by the North Dodge Hy-Vee in Iowa City, Iowa, and the Hy-Vee on Agency in Burlington, Iowa. In 1996, McCann was once again promoted to director of operations, and then to assistant vice president of operations over the northeast region. In 1997 and 2010, McCann served 1-year terms on Hy-Vee’s board of directors. In 2001, he was promoted to assistant vice president of Hy-Vee and president of Perishable Distributors of Iowa (PDI). In 2009, he was promoted to vice president of Hy-Vee and president of PDI. He was then promoted to senior vice president of retail health in 2011, a position he held through 2012 at which time he was selected as senior vice president of store development. In 2013, he was promoted to executive vice president and chief health officer. He also was elected to the executive committee and became a permanent member of the board of directors. In 2014, McCann’s role was expanded to executive vice president, chief administrative officer and chief health officer. He had the distinction of being named Hy-Vee’s first-ever vice chairman in June 2015. Sheila Laing will assume the role of executive vice president, chief administrative officer, following McCann’s retirement. She currently serves as Hy-Vee’s executive vice president, health, wellness and chief human resources officer. Laing began her Hy-Vee career in 1987 as a part-time checker/stocker at the Dodge Street Hy-Vee in Dubuque, Iowa. In 1988, she moved to the West Kimberly Road Hy-Vee in Davenport, Iowa, as a full-time cheese island clerk, and later that year, moved to the 95th St. Hy-Vee in Overland Park, Kan., as a meat clerk. In 1989, she was promoted to meat and cheese manager at the Raytown, Mo., Hy-Vee, and later that year was promoted to shift manager at the Brookings, S.D., Hy-Vee. Laing’s next move took her to the Chariton distribution center, where she served as human resources manager of distribution in 1996. She was promoted to director of human resources in 1997 and named assistant vice president of human resources for the Chariton facility in 1999. In 2005, Laing was named assistant vice president of employee benefits. In 2009, she was elected vice president of human resources for Hy-Vee, responsible for overseeing the company’s benefit plan, recruiting and all human resource functions. She was promoted to senior vice president of retail health in 2013; then in 2014, her role was expanded to senior vice president, chief customer officer, followed by a promotion to executive vice president in 2015.

G. Willi-Food International Ltd., Israel
Tim Cranko announced his resignation as chief executive officer, effective Dec. 31, citing personal reasons.

Abeles & Heymann, Bronx, N.Y.
Kevin O’Brien joined as vice president of sales, responsible for managing and growing sales across the nation for both Glatt Kosher brands. O’Brien brings more than 40 years’ experience in supermarket retail and related food business store operations, procurement, merchandising, sales and marketing. His sales career spans from store management in high-volume supermarkets to corporate roles in both ethnic and specialty as well as in natural and organic foods.  O’Brien has been vice president of sales at Manischewitz for over 10 years, responsible for direct growth and managing top accounts as well as overseeing the sales, merchandising, consumer affairs and customer service departments and fostering positive distributor and retailer relationships. O’Brien’s retail background also includes management positions at such New York Metro retailers, including Pathmark, Wakefern-Shoprite and A&P.

OSI Group, LLC, Aurora, Ill.
Sharon Birkett was appointed director, quality and regulatory affairs for OSI Europe, effective Jan. 22, 2018. Birkett will be based in Gersthofen, Germany, and will assume responsibility for the quality and food safety systems throughout OSI's European operations, provide leadership and direction to OSI Europe and collaborate with OSI’s customers, suppliers, employees and other stakeholders across the business to continuously pursue and achieve the highest levels of quality and food safety throughout OSI and its supply chains. Throughout her 29-year career, Birkett has been a leader in the advancement of quality and food safety in the food industry. Her work with the Food Safety Culture Working Group as part of the Global Food Safety Initiative contributed to the development and dissemination of best practices in food processing facilities. She has also provided her expertise to the International Association of Food Protection, and was an instructor at the Annual Advanced Listeria Workshop for the North American Meat Institute. She participates in several professional organizations, including the International Association of Food Protection, American Society for Quality and the North American Meat Institute. Additionally, Birkett is a member of the International Advisory Board for BRC Global Standards and the Educational Advisory Board for the Food Safety Summit.

Chicago Meat Authority, Chicago
Kyle Richard joins as executive vice president for sales and marketing, responsible for sales and marketing functions. Richard maintains close to 20 years’ experience running large poultry operations with several chicken producers. His expertise spans strategic planning, public relations and marketing, account development and growth, customer service, corporate systems innovation, corporate governance, metrics and analytics. Most recently, he was senior vice president of sales at Pilgrim’s Pride.

C&S Wholesale Grocers, Keene, N.H.
Mike Duffy was named chief executive officer, effective Jan. 8, 2018, responsible for the company’s strategic development, customer satisfaction and day-to-day operations. Duffy has spent more than 20 years building expertise through his work with Cardinal Health, Gillette Co. and P&G (following its acquisition of Gillette). Most recently, he served as president of global manufacturing and supply chain at Cardinal Health. He currently serves on the board of trustees for the Columbus Metropolitan Library, has previously been on the board of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals and served as president of the Corporate Advisory Council at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business (Master of Supply Chain Management Program).

Kiolbassa Smoked Meats, San Antonio, Texas
Bill Wagner was appointed chief financial officer. Wagner maintains more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing, distribution and consumer packaged goods. Most recently, he served as chief financial officer at Walton Worldwide. He also held leadership positions with Pace Foods, Desert Glory (now Nature Sweet) and Frito Lay.

Seald Sweet International, Vero Beach, Fla.
Industry veteran GT Parris joined as account executive and commodity manager, focusing on growth of the company’s domestic and imported produce programs. Parris brings over 25 years of experience in the produce industry, specifically in the Florida citrus sector, where he developed a handful of key retail programs.

Schwan’s Co., Marshall, Minn.
Joe Pacinelli, who joined Schwan’s through the acquisition of Better Baked Foods, was appointed president of Schwan’s Strategic Partner Solutions, the company’s new private label and contract packaging business unit. Pacinelli was with Better Baked Foods for 19 years, serving as its president since 2005. In addition, Pacinelli has served as a board member with the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) for 12 years.

Tyson Foods, Inc., Springdale, Ark.
Amy Tu was named executive vice president and general counsel, effective Dec. 11, succeeding David Van Bebber, who joined Tyson in May 1986 as part of the Lane Processing Inc. acquisition. Bebber has served in this role since May 2008, and will continue his employment with the company through May 11, 2018. Tu maintains more than 20 years of international experience, having most recently served as chief counsel for global law affairs at The Boeing Co., where she led the anti-corruption practice group. She also served as chief counsel for the commercial aviation services and sales, contracts and marketing business units at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Prior to that role, she was the first regional counsel based in London, UK, responsible for commercial and defense matters in Europe, Russia and Israel. Tu joined Boeing in Chicago in 2001 as assistant corporate secretary and counsel for mergers and acquisitions, finance and governance after serving as international corporate counsel at Gap, Inc. and as international corporate counsel at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

SUPPLIERS:
KION GROUP AG, Germany
Dr. Thomas Toepfer, chief financial officer, will be leaving the company, effective March 31, 2018, to join Covestro AG in the same role.

Gelest, Inc., Morrisville, Pa.
Ken Gayer was named chief executive officer, tasked with overseeing the company’s operations across its product portfolio and end markets. Gayer brings more than 20 years of global chemical industry leadership experience. Most recently, Gayer served as business president of Honeywell Specialty Products of Honeywell International. Prior to his latest role, he had a long tenure at Honeywell in a variety of leadership positions, including vice president and general manager at Honeywell Fluorine Products; vice president of procurement, customer service, trade compliance, transportation and logistics; and global business director of foam and industrial products. Prior to Honeywell, Gayer held leadership roles at McKinsey & Co. and the Polaroid Corp., and served as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy Nuclear Submarine Force. Barry Arkles, who founded Gelest in 1991, will remain as chief technology officer and chairman of the board of directors.

NEC Energy Solutions, Westborough, Mass.
Steve Fludder was appointed chief executive officer, effective immediately, taking over for chairman Michihiro “Hiro” Ezawa, who was interim CEO on a temporary basis. Ezawa maintains experience scaling and growing energy-related businesses, executing transformational strategies and driving operational excellence, including 15 years based abroad in Korea, China, Indonesia, Hong Kong and the UAE. He most recently served as chief executive officer of Alpha-En Corp., and prior to that, spent four years as a senior executive officer with Samsung Group as chief marketing and sales officer of Samsung Engineering. He also led Samsung Engineering’s USA operation as president and CEO. Fludder started his career at GE as an engineer for GE Aircraft Engines, and spent 27 years with the company, including five years as a vice president and corporate officer, where he led GE’s company-wide Ecomagination environmental business initiative. Prior to that, he was responsible for several GE technology-based businesses across Asia, notably as president and CEO of GE Energy China in Beijing, where he grew revenue tenfold to over $1 billion in three years.

Peco-Inspx Corp., San Carlos, Calif.
Kris Bulmer joined as general manager for Canada, responsible for the continued build-out of Peco-InspX’s Canadian sales and service capability, including channel partner network expansion and the creation of a direct Canadian-based service team. In addition, Kris will also immediately assume management of relationships with many of Peco-InspX key strategic clients. Bulmer has worked in a variety of sales and service leadership roles over the last 15 years, and maintains extensive experience with both product inspection and the weighing industry.

SPX Flow, Charlotte, N.C.
Vipul Mistry was appointed global product manager for pumps in the food and beverage markets, responsible for the development of the global SPX FLOW pumps business and new pumping product developments for the food and beverage market. Mistry maintains strong technical background with combined experience in product development and portfolio management. His most recent positions were with Ingersoll-Rand followed by a move to Gerson Lehrma Group as an independent consultant.

Cold Carriers, division of KJM Capital, LLC, Orlando, Fla.
Dave Wiebusch was named general manager of East region, responsible for managing the company’s Gantt Trucking and Sunco Trucking operating companies, as well any future carriers acquired in the eastern United States. Previously, Wiebusch was director of grocery dedicated-West region for Swift Transportation, where he oversaw operations for the company’s dedicated refrigerated fleet of 1,000 tractors and $150 million of revenue. Rick Morin joined as vice president of fleet operations, responsible for the entire Cold Carriers’ fleet of over 450 tractors and 700 temperature-controlled trailers. Morin most recently served as director of shop operations-grocery dedicated for Swift Transportation, where he managed the maintenance program for its fleet of 2,300 tractors and 4,000 reefers. Both Wiebusch and Morin have worked at Swift Transportation for over 20 years.

ESE, Inc., Marshfield, Wis.
Brian Wood was hired as process control engineer. Previously, Wood worked at Dairy State Cheese Company and Mid-State Technical College as adjunct instructor.