ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:
Dairy Farmers of Canada, Canada
Jacques Lefebvre was appointed chief executive officer, effective Jan. 8. Lefebvre maintains over 25 years of experience across multiple sectors. Previously, he served as president and CEO of the Dairy Processors Association of Canada, where he gained in-depth understanding of Canada's dairy sector. Lefebvre has also held senior executive positions with national member organizations, both in the business and not-for-profit sectors.

National Grocers Association, Arlington, Va.
Greg Ferrara was named executive vice president of advocacy, public relations and member services. Ferrara will continue in his role supervising the government relations and communications and marketing department, in addition to overseeing the member services department. Matthew Ott was named executive vice president and COO and executive director of the NGA Foundation. Ott will also have an expanded role in leading the NGA Foundation and continue overseeing the association’s business development, technology initiatives and office administration. Adrian Rios was promoted to manager of accounting and information technology. Rios will continue managing the association’s account receivables, and take on the day-to-day information technology responsibilities. Annie Stoltenberg was promoted to manager of marketing and web content, managing the association’s marketing efforts to increase awareness and engagement for NGA and NGA Foundation programs and events. Channing Pejic joined as coordinator of political and legislative affairs, responsible for managing the association's political action committee and grassroots advocacy efforts. Kevin Liao was promoted to manager of executive offices and programs, tasked with managing the association’s share group program and serving as a liaison to the board of directors, in addition to administration for the executive offices. Maggie White joined as manager of donor relations and development, managing the NGA Foundation’s fundraising efforts, student programs and university coalition. Matt Foley was promoted to director of government relations, charged with leading the association’s advocacy efforts around a portfolio of issues, including labor relations, data security and judiciary matters. Matt Klein was promoted to senior director of operations and finance, overseeing the association’s day-to-day finances, information technology and human resources. Sarah Tillman Reeves joined as membership services administrator, serving as a liaison between the association’s members and internal departments, as well as support membership outreach efforts. Su Li was promoted to manager of accounting and administration. Li will continue managing the association’s account payables, as well as taking on day-to-day administrative responsibilities. Travis Van Horn was promoted to manager of communications and media relations, responsible for managing strategic communications efforts to elevate NGA’s voice in the news media and position the association as a thought leader.

International Society of Automation (ISA), Research Triangle Park, N.C.
Brian Curtis was named society president, responsible for governing, setting policy and establishing the strategic direction of the organization. Curtis is the operations manager for Veolia Energy Ireland, providing services to Novartis Ringaskiddy Ltd. in Cork, Ireland. He maintains more than 35 years of experience in petrochemical, biotech and bulk pharmaceutical industries, specializing in design, construction management and commissioning of electrical, instrumentation and automation control systems. He has managed complex engineering projects in Ireland, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany. A long-time ISA member, Curtis has served on the ISA Executive Board since 2013, the Geographic Assembly Board (2012-2015) and the Finance Committee (2013-2017.) He was also Ireland section president and vice president of District 12, which includes Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and has been active on several society task forces, including cybersecurity, governance and globalization-related committees. Curtis is the former president of Cobh & Harbor Chamber of Commerce (2013-2015) and former chairman of the Ireland Southern Region Chambers (2015-2016) and is an active member of the Ireland National Standards Body, ETCI.

Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB), Colorado Springs, Colo.
Nicole Johnson-Hoffman, chief sustainability officer and senior vice president for OSI Group, was elected president. Previously, she was vice president.

Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), Portland, Ore.
New members joined for the 2017-2018 term, including Jim Baggs, customer service, communications and regulatory affairs officer, Seattle City Light; Steve Bicker, conservation resources senior manager, Tacoma Power; Dan James, deputy administrator, Bonneville Power Administration; Dan Johnson, director, energy efficiency, Avista Utilities; Scott Pugrud, deputy administrator and legal counsel, Idaho Office of Energy and Mineral Resources; and Bonnie Rouse, section supervisor, Montana Department of Environmental Quality. Michael Colgrove, executive director of Energy Trust of Oregon, was appointed secretary.
 

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:
L&M Cos., Raleigh, N.C.
Jon Shriver joined the Eastern veg team. Shriver has been in the produce industry for 14 years, and spent the first 11 years of his career working East Coast dry vegetables, specifically focusing on Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan. More recently, he focused on business development and selling for Mexican vegetables.

Whole Foods Market, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Nicole Wescoe was named president of the company’s Northeast region, tasked with overseeing 41 stores across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut in addition to the East Coast’s first Whole Foods Market 365 store and a new Whole Foods Market in Bridgewater, N.J., opening in March. Wescoe maintains 24 years of experience at Whole Foods Market, working her way up from a team leader in the bakery, specialty and grocery departments at stores in the Mid-Atlantic region to associate store team leader and store team leader before relocating to the Northeast, where she spent six years as regional vice president. She returned to the Mid-Atlantic region in 2013, where she most recently served as regional vice president, overseeing 15 new stores, four re-locations and 10 renovations in two regions.

JBS USA, Greeley, Colo.
Thomas Lopez, a former Kraft-Heinz food executive with more than 18 years of industry experience, was selected to lead Plumrose USA, the pork consumer-ready business JBS acquired in March 2017. Lopez will lead the company’s strategy, growth and development, including direct oversight of operations. Previously, Lopez held several senior positions at Kraft Foods and the Kraft-Heinz Food Co., most recently as president of beverages and snacks division, responsible for the transformation and portfolio strategies for some of Kraft’s most distinctive brands. During his career at Kraft and Kraft-Heinz, Lopez rose in the organization from an associate brand manager in 1999, to senior marketing director in 2009, vice president of marketing of refrigerated meats in 2012, vice president of U.S. growth channels in 2014, president of meals and desserts in 2015, and finally, president of beverages and snacks. 

Klement Sausage Co., Inc., Milwaukee, Wis.
Tom Danneker was named president and CEO, effective Jan. 1. Danneker, who previously held executive and senior level positions with Smithfield Foods, Vista Casings and Johnsonville Sausage, succeeds former president and CEO Raymond Booth, who stepped down from his day-to-day leadership role and moved into an advisory role until early May 2018 when he will officially retire.

SPINS, Chicago
Molly Hjelm was named vice president of marketing, responsible for leading the company’s marketing efforts, including communication strategy, corporate branding, events and media relations. Hjelm possesses nearly a decade of experience consulting with retailers and manufacturers on media and marketing strategy and attribution. Most recently, she spent time with IRI's Media Center of Excellence, where she crafted learning plans that enabled CPGs to optimize their media spend and hold their digital spend accountable to in-store sales. While there, she also specialized in CRM optimization, developing and commercializing a suite of solutions around CRM personalization with some of the world's leading manufacturers. Later, at 84.51º, Kroger's data analytics arm, she aided in the launch of a consulting practice to help brands create innovation and media campaigns that resonated with their most loyal shoppers.

Dawn Food Products, Inc., Jackson, Mich.
Twenty-year veteran Stevens Sainte-Rose was appointed chief human resources and transformation officer, effective immediately, responsible for organizational design, leadership development and the creation and stewardship of a people-centric environment. He has also been tasked with leadership oversight of current and future business transformation efforts, and will focus on accelerating change and building business capabilities to move the company’s business priorities forward. Previously, Sainte-Rose served as the chief human resources officer for the Walgreens division, Walgreens Boots Alliance Corp., where he supported Walgreens’ U.S. retail pharmacy business and led all aspects of human resources for the 250,000-person division. Prior to that, Sainte-Rose spent a decade at The Coca-Cola Co. across multiple global roles, his last three years as senior vice president of Coca-Cola International. He also served in HR roles at Aramark Corp., Pier 1 Imports, Burger King and Millennium Hotels & Resorts.

Dean Foods Co., Dallas, Texas
Food and consumer packaged goods industry veteran Jody Macedonio will as executive vice president and CFO, effective Feb. 26. Macedonio previously served as senior vice president of finance for the North America laundry and beauty divisions of Henkel AG following Henkel's acquisition of Sun Products Corp., where she served as senior vice president, finance, planning and treasurer. Prior to joining Sun Products in 2012, Macedonio was employed at PepsiCo, where she held several positions, including chief financial officer and vice president, finance for the North business unit of Frito-Lay. Prior to joining PepsiCo, Macedonio served in finance positions at Nestlé, SmithKline Beecham and Chemical Bank. 

Stater Bros. Markets, San Bernardino, Calif.
George Frahm was named president, effective Jan. 15. A seasoned executive with over 45 years of experience in the supermarket industry, Frahm’s extensive grocery career began in 1973 at the Stater Bros. supermarket as a clerks’ helper and janitor. He steadily progressed through a range of retail store and district supervision roles, including store manager, retail grocery supervisor and retail district manager. In 1995, Frahm was promoted to director labor relations, and continued to advance to increasing levels of responsibility such as vice president labor relations, senior vice president administration, group senior vice president retail operations and administration, executive vice president retail operations/administration, and his most recent role, executive vice president administration/distribution. He is a past chairman of the board of directors for the California Grocers Association, and has served as a trustee on the California Grocers Association Educational Foundation. Meanwhile, Dan Meyer, a 46-year member of the Stater Bros. “family,” will assume the role of executive vice president of distribution. In this role, previously held by Frahm, Meyer will oversee the entire operation of Stater Bros. distribution division, which includes the company’s 2.1 million-square-foot Norton distribution center in addition to the company’s transportation and fleet maintenance departments. Meyer most recently served as executive vice president of retail operations. And, Keith Thomas, a 37-year Stater Bros. “family” member, was promoted to senior vice president of retail operations, responsible for overseeing the entire retail operations of all 171 Stater Bros. supermarket locations. Thomas has steadily progressed through a range of retail store and district supervision roles. In 2009, he was promoted to his most recent position of regional vice president of retail operations. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Western Association of Food Chains. Finally, Tom Seaton, a 40-year member of the Stater Bros. “family,” was promoted to senior vice president of administration, tasked with overseeing the company’s administration division, which includes human resources, labor relations, insurance, workers’ compensation, support services and office services departments. In 2009, Seaton was promoted to his most recent position of regional vice president of retail operations. These changes also become effective Jan. 15.

FOODSERVICE:
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc., Greenwood Village, Colo.
Beverly Carmichael was appointed executive vice president, chief people, culture and resource officer, responsible for leading Red Robin's human resource and legal teams. Carmichael is a recognized human resources executive and licensed labor and employment attorney, and maintains more than 25 years of leadership experience in multiple industries. She most recently served as senior vice president and chief people officer for Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, and before that, served in a variety of human resources and legal roles at high-profile brands, including Southwest Airlines and Ticketmaster.

Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc., Canton, Mass.
The parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins promoted Scott Murphy to chief operating officer of Dunkin' Donuts U.S. Murphy joined Dunkin' Brands in 2004, and most recently served as senior vice president, operations, Dunkin' Donuts U.S., where he oversaw field operations of more than 8,500 Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in the United States, as well as the manufacturing and supply chain functions. In his new position, he will assume the additional responsibility of executing the annual restaurant development plan. During his nearly 14 years with Dunkin' Brands, Murphy served in a variety of positions, beginning in supply chain where he was ultimately named chief supply officer. For 10 years, Murphy served on the board of directors for the National DCP, the Dunkin' Donuts franchisee-owned procurement and distribution cooperative. He began working in international restaurant operations in 2013, and was named senior vice president, Dunkin' Donuts U.S. in 2015. Meanwhile, veteran restaurant executive Rick Colón was named to the newly-created position of senior vice president, operations and development for Dunkin' Donuts U.S. Colón comes following a 40-year career with McDonald's Corp., where he served in a number of key leadership roles, including zone president for McDonald's South zone; division president and senior vice president for the McDonald's East division; and vice president and general manager for the New York Metro and Greater Southwest regions. In these positions, he was responsible for all aspects of managing the restaurants, including operations, finance, restaurant development, franchising, marketing, human resources, supply chain, government relations and communications.

Domino's, Ann Arbor, Mich.
President and CEO J. Patrick Doyle announced his intention to depart on June 30 after more than 8 years with the company. At the same time, Domino's board of directors promoted Richard Allison, president of Domino's International, to chief executive officer, and Russell Weiner, president of Domino's USA, to the newly-created role of chief operating officer of Domino's and president of the Americas. Both appointments will be effective July 1. As President – Domino's International, Allison currently oversees more than 9,000 stores and all franchise relationships outside the United States. Under Allison’s leadership, Domino's international division grew by more than 4,500 stores in more than 85 markets in six years and achieved 95 consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth. He joined Domino's in March 2011 as executive vice president of international, joining the brand from Bain & Co., Inc., where he was partner and co-leader of the restaurant practice. As president – Domino's USA, Weiner was responsible for the reinvention of Domino's U.S. menu, which led to record-setting sales increases and the turnaround of the Domino's brand. Weiner is also credited for the creation of Domino's "Pizza Theater" store design, the redesign of the brand logo and the creation of the DXP pizza delivery vehicle, as well as many product and technology innovation launches.

Ruby Tuesday, Inc., Maryville, Tenn.
Ray Blanchette, a seasoned restaurant executive and turnaround expert with over 25 years of industry experience, was named as chief executive officer, effective Jan. 8. Blanchette is the permanent successor to the company’s former president and CEO, Jim Hyatt, and succeeds Aziz Hashim, founder and managing partner of NRD Capital, Ruby Tuesday’s private equity firm, who served as interim CEO since the firm acquired Ruby Tuesday Dec. 21, 2017. Blanchette has served as president and CEO of Au Bon Pain (ABP) since June 2016, including through the acquisition of the company by Panera Bread in December 2017. Prior to ABP, from 2007-2015, he served as president, CEO and a member of the board of directors of Ignite Restaurant Group, Inc., the parent company of the Joe’s Crab Shack and Brick House Tap & Tavern brands. Blanchette is also credited with the turnaround of the Joe’s Crab Shack brand, the launch of the Brick House Tap & Tavern concept and bundling the brands into IRG, which he eventually took public through an initial public offering on NASDAQ in 2012. Blanchette has also served in numerous senior leadership roles at Carlson Restaurants, the former parent of TGI Friday's and Pick Up Stix.

ARYZTA AG, Switzerland
Dave Johnson was appointed CEO North America, effective Jan. 23. Most recently, he served nine years as president and CEO Americas at Barry Callebaut, retiring in August 2017. During his tenure, he nearly doubled sales volume and profitability while also establishing a strong market position in Latin America. Prior to Barry Callebaut, Johnson spent over 20 years with Kraft Foods Global, Inc., serving in a number of senior positions, including president of Kraft North America from 2003-2006 and president of operations, technology and procurement from 2002-2003. Johnson also served as chief operating officer and then CEO at Michael Foods from 2007-2009. And, John Heffernan was named chief strategy officer, effective Feb. 28. Heffernan joins ARYZTA from daa plc, where he served as chief development officer for the past four years, leading the implementation of a new growth strategy, the development of new businesses and oversaw the development of major infrastructure, including the progression of a new runway, the startup of Dublin Airport Central and Dublin Airport’s ongoing expansion program. From 2006-2014, he was the founder and CEO of a number of businesses in clean energy, including Clearpower and Aer Ltd. From 2003-2006, he was acquisitions and development director for Boundary Capital, and prior to that, worked with McKinsey and Co. 

SUPPLIERS:
RLS Logistics, Newfield, N.J.
Ken Johnson was tapped as vice president, customer success for the company’s warehouse group. Johnson maintains 26 years of senior operations experience.

MyWebGrocer (MWG), Winooski, Vt.
Rob Christian was appointed senior vice president of client engagement, charged with leading the retail sales and business development teams to drive growth in the grocery and CPG industries. Christian has spent the majority of his 30-plus-year career facilitating shopper-based insights between retailers and their CPG partners. He began his career leading client engagement organizations for Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson and Dannon Yogurt. After starting up two ventures, Christian shifted his focus to vendor solutions, serving the last 15 years within client service, technology and business development responsibilities at Information Resource, Inc., SymphonyEYC and dunnhumby.

Stay Metrics, South Bend, Ind.
Jerry Scott was named chief operating officer. Scott maintains extensive transportation experience, and has served in various leadership roles in safety, operations and human resources with Towne Air Freight for more than 20 years. Most recently, he managed the operations of a regional insurance and risk management provider, and was chief operating officer of a startup in the financial services sector.