ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:
Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP), Arlington, Va.
Dr. Steve Hart was elected to the board of directors, effective Feb. 1. Hart is vice president of Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA), tasked with leading market development efforts in Asia, investigating emerging issues affecting aquaculture and its stakeholders, working with GAA constituents to respond to emerging issues, expanding activities with other aquaculture and seafood groups and generating content for GAA’s communications vehicles. Previously, Hart was executive director for Soy Aquaculture Alliance and director of aquaculture at Indiana Soybean Alliance.

Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), Washington, D.C.
Pamela Bailey, president and CEO, announced plans to retire later this year. During Bailey’s 10-year tenure, GMA led the industry in supporting modernization of the nation’s food and product safety laws and regulations. This work resulted in passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act, reforms to the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) review process and passage of the Toxic Substances Control Act. Under her leadership, GMA was a vital voice in support of a federal law setting a uniform national standard for required disclosure of food and beverage ingredients from biotechnology. In addition, GMA worked with the Food Marketing Institute on major industry-wide initiatives, including SmartLabel, Facts Up Front and a Product Code Dating initiative. Prior to joining GMA, Bailey served as founding president and CEO of the Healthcare Leadership Council; president and CEO of AdvaMed, the Advanced Medical Technology Association; and president and CEO of the Personal Care Products Council. Earlier in Bailey’s career, she served in the White House for three presidents.   

Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA), San Francisco
Doug Radi, chief executive officer of Good Karma Foods, was appointed to the board of directors. The following industry leaders also joined to form a new advisory team—Haven Bourque, founder of HavenBMedia; Sherene Chou, nutrition director of L.A. Kitchen; Rebecca Cross, counsel at ‎Davis Wright Tremaine LLP; Michele DeKinder-Smith, owner and CEO of Jane Out of the Box; Chris Kerr, entrepreneur in start-ups; Mathis Martines, vice president of brand and strategy for Concentric; Sapna Thottathil, supply chain specialist at School Food Focus; and David Meyer, fundraising. Also joining PBFA are Sara Rutkowski as membership director. Rutkowski maintains an extensive background in membership relations from the Specialty Food Association; Janli Degenhardt as communications director. Degenhardt brings more than 15 years of experience in corporate communications from Chevron Corp.; and Ciara LaChaux as program coordinator. LaChaux brings a combined background in nutrition and program administration.

Wisconsin Potato & Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA), Antigo, Wis.
Josh Mattek, manager at J.W. Mattek & Sons, Inc., was elected 2018 president, succeeding Eric Schroeder, president of Schroeder Bros. Farms, Inc., who served as board president in 2017. Gary Wysocki, specialty products manager of Wysocki Produce Farm, was elected vice president; Rod Gumz, co-founder of Gumz Muck Farms, LLC, was elected secretary; and Wes Meddaugh of Heartland Farms, Inc., was re-elected treasurer. The WPVGA associate division board of directors elected Casey Kedrowski, regulatory officer of Roberts Irrigation, was elected president for 2018, replacing Sally Surprise, commercial insurance advisor at Ansay & Associates, who completed her second term.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:
Post Holdings, Inc., St. Louis, Mo.
Steve Schonhoff was promoted to senior vice president of integrated supply chain, after the company combined its supply chain leadership for its Michael Foods and Bob Evans Foods businesses. Previously, Schonhoff was vice president, integrated supply chain for Michael Foods. Schonhoff’s 30-year career includes positions of increasing responsibility in the food industry with roles at Kraft Foods and Ralcorp. His experience at Post Holdings includes responsibility for manufacturing, procurement, distribution, warehousing and supply/demand planning at both the Post Consumer Brands business and more recently at Michael Foods.

Talley Farms, Arroyo Grande, Calif.
Produce industry veteran Derek Sass was appointed sales manager, focusing on business development for new retail accounts, including national chains, mass market, regional chains, independents and wholesalers and expanding Talley Farms’ commodity offerings. Sass maintains 20 years of industry experience. Previously, he was national account executive for Beachside Produce, where he led the company’s strawberry program. Prior to that, he was the procurement manager for Markon, Inc., where he oversaw quality control and managed multiple commodities.

Hormel Foods Corp., Austin, Minn.
Jeff Baker, group vice president, foodservice, was appointed to the newly created role of group vice president, deli, responsible for leading the deli offerings from across the enterprise, including Columbus Craft Meats, the Jennie-O Turkey Store deli division, the Hormel and DiLusso deli brands and Hormel Gatherings party trays. Baker joined Hormel Foods in sales in 1990. After holding product manager positions for smoked meats and sausage, Baker became the meat products district manager in Buffalo, N.Y., in 2001. In 2002, he was promoted to senior product manager, meat products, and became group product manager for meat products three years later, with both roles providing leadership in the deli business. Baker advanced to director of fresh meats marketing and precept foods in 2009, and advanced to vice president, foodservice marketing in 2012. He became group vice president, foodservice in 2015. Meanwhile, Mark Ourada, vice president, foodservice sales, will advance to group vice president, foodservice, bringing 30 years of foodservice leadership to the business. Ourada began his career at Hormel Foods in 1988 as a relief sales and merchandiser, and was promoted to sales representative and territory manager the same year. A year later, he became a foodservice sales representative in San Antonio, Texas. In 1993, he became the foodservice account manager in Denver, Colo., and in 1995, was promoted to foodservice account executive. In 1998, he moved back to Minneapolis as a foodservice area manager, and in 2001, moved into the role of foodservice regional sales manager in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2013, he became vice president, foodservice sales. And, David Weber, vice president, foodservice marketing, will advance to vice president, foodservice sales. Weber maintains 26 years of leadership in foodservice. He started his career with Hormel Foods in 1992, and held several foodservice sales and product manager positions throughout the country. In 2006, Weber was promoted to foodservice regional manager, was promoted to president of Burke Corp. in 2012, and assumed the role of vice president, foodservice marketing in 2015.

Arla Foods, Germany
Arthur Fearnall was appointed to the board of directors, effective immediately, following the departure of Jonathan Ovens. Fearnall will continue to sit on the UK Arla Farmers Cooperative (UKAF) board as well as the UK Area Council. He is also chair of the Arla Morrisons Farmer Committee, and works closely with Arla’s management team on a number of projects, including being a member of the Brexit Farmer Taskforce. Fearnall is also chairman of the Dairy UK Farmers Forum and a board member of the Dairy UK and Dairy Council board.

Market Fresh Produce, Nixa, Mo.
Sebastian Forest was named vendor managed inventory specialist, responsible for timely and accurate fulfillment of daily replenishment orders for customers, maintaining strong communication with the internal procurement team and collecting sales data and managing weekly reports to track and improve key vendor managed inventory performance metrics. Forest spent four years as a vendor managed inventory analyst in Walmart’s vendor managed inventory department and as a logistics analyst for Topps, where he became proficient with data analysis, replenishment and inventory management.

FOODSERVICE:
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Denver, Colo.
Brian Niccol was appointed chief executive officer, effective March 5. Niccol most recently served as chief executive officer of Yum! Brands' Taco Bell division, where he was responsible for the turnaround of the business. Niccol has been with Taco Bell since 2011, and served as CEO from January 2015 and president from 2013-2014. Under his leadership, he repositioned Taco Bell as a lifestyle brand and launched numerous product initiatives, including the new breakfast daypart, transformed Taco Bell into a social media leader and revolutionized its digital approach through mobile ordering and payment across its 7,000 restaurants. Prior to Taco Bell, Niccol was vice president of strategy, chief marketing officer and general manager at Pizza Hut, where he led brand strategy and positioning. Niccol began his career at Procter & Gamble, where he spent 10 years in various brand management positions. Chipotle chairman, founder and CEO, Steve Ells, will become executive chairman.

SUPPLIERS:
Five Star Holding Corp., Houston, Texas
Michael Ukropina was appointed chief executive officer. Previously, he was senior vice president of Graphic Packaging's consumer packaging division, served as president of ASG-Worldwide and held a variety of management positions within International Paper's packaging operations. 

The Suddath Cos., Jacksonville, Fla.
Scott Perry was appointed president for its global logistics division, succeeding Dan DeSoto, who will be retiring in April after a distinguished career in the contract logistics business. Perry maintains over 25 years of experience in logistics, transportation, operations and technology. Previously, served as chief operating officer at Nikola Motor Co., where he supported investor, customer and supplier relationship development. Prior to that, he was chief technology and procurement officer for Ryder System’s fleet management solutions division, where he worked for more than 26 years in various operational and functional leadership roles in logistics and transportation. While there, he oversaw Ryder’s internal supply chain and the negotiation of primary supplier agreements with an annual spend of more than $2 billion. He also maintains experience with next-generation technology, product management and strategy and integration of new technology into existing systems.

Insight Enterprises, Inc., Tempe, Ariz.
Linda Breard was appointed to the board of directors. Breard has been chief financial officer in technology companies and other industries, and serves on the board of directors for Potlatch Corp., where she is the chair of the audit committee. 

Benson Hill Biosystems, St. Louis, Mo.
Michael Wainscott joined as chief financial officer. Wainscott brings a record of strategic and operational finance leadership for organizations undergoing significant growth, with special focus on the food ingredient industry, where he worked in portfolio and supply chain management. Most recently, Wainscott co-founded and served as chief financial officer for Technology Crops International, and prior to that, he served as chief financial officer for Kings, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Associated British Foods, plc.