ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:
Refrigerated Foods Association (RFA), Marietta, Ga.
Keith McIntosh, president of Mrs. Grissom’s Salads, and David Horowitz, director of sales, strategic initiatives for DuPont Nutrition & Health, were elected new board members at this year’s conference. Re-elected to serve 3-year terms are Steve Loehndorf, technical director at Reser’s Fine Foods; Mark Brown, president of Fresh Creative Foods; and Wendie DiMatteo Holsinger, chief executive officer of ASK Foods. Two members rotated off the board—Ken Funger, chief executive officer of Mrs. Grissom’s Salads; and Jennifer Shrader, partner of Atlantic Coast Marketing. The RFA’s new executive committee consists of Josh Knott, owner/president of Knott’s Foods, as president; Mike Swan, vice president of Keybrand Foods, as vice president; Karen Bishop Carbone, regulatory compliance at Boston Salads, as treasurer; and Lauren Edmonds, product development at St. Clair Foods, as secretary.

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, Long Beach, Calif.
Darrin Lambrigger was named new director of construction management, effective March 3, replacing Suzanne Plezia, who was promoted to senior director/chief harbor engineer last summer. Lambrigger, who has been acting director of construction management since June 2017, will oversee construction of port projects, including the $1.5 billion Middle Harbor Redevelopment Program. Lambrigger joined the port in November 2011 as deputy chief harbor engineer, and was promoted to assistant director of construction management in August 2015. Before joining the port staff, he was a consultant to the port beginning in 2008, working on the Pier G Administration and Operations Buildings projects.

NSF International, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Frank Pan was appointed managing director of China operations, responsible for providing strategic and operational leadership for NSF International's expanding programs in China, which include testing, auditing, certification, training and consulting services for the food, drinking water, health sciences and sustainability industries, as well as ISO registrations. Pan will also ensure NSF's strategies in China are aligned with the organization's global strategies. Pan brings over 15 years of testing, inspection and certification industry experience. Pan most recently worked as vice president for Bureau Veritas' CPS division, implementing global strategies to expand its North American electrical and electronics services, as well as drive new business in the China market. Pan also worked as chief executive of Intertek Group's Southeast Asia region, and before that, as chief operating officer of the China region. In these roles, he implemented strategic plans to strengthen and expand the company's businesses across Asia.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:
Domex Superfresh Growers, Yakima, Wash.
Paul Newstead joined as director of business development, responsible for generating new customers and building existing relationships across North America. Newstead maintains more than 25 years of experience in the produce industry, including previous tenure with Superfresh Growers from 2002-2012. Before re-joining Superfresh Growers, Newstead worked in a variety of management and executive roles, including sales and marketing. Most recently, he worked as vice president of sales and marketing for Nathel International, responsible for for imported table grapes, stone fruit, apple, pears and citrus.

Blue Star Foods, Miami, Fla.
Josette Emlen Genio was appointed sustainability manager, tasked with leading the company’s sustainability and traceability initiatives for the Philippines. Genio maintains experience within fisheries science and management space. Previously, she was program director and fisheries manager of the Philippine Association of Crab Processors Inc.

ARYZTA AG, Switzerland
Pat Morrissey, general counsel and company secretary, announced his intent to step down from his position after 18 years of service.

California Giant Berry Farms, Watsonville, Calif.
Joe Barsi was hired in a newly created position of chief operating officer, effective March 5, tasked with working with the senior leadership team to develop a long-term strategic plan for the company. Barsi previously worked with California Giant as vice president of business development, responsible for leading the expansion of the blueberry program. Barsi also developed an internal team and grower base in the United States, Mexico, South America and Canada. Prior to joining California Giant, he was president of T&G Global’s North American operations. 

Mars, Inc., McLean, Va.
Stefanie Straub, current vice president and general counsel for Mars Wrigley Confectionery, was named vice president and general counsel for Mars, Inc., effective April 1. Straub joined Wrigley in 2001 in Europe, where she served as an attorney supporting German-speaking countries. A licensed attorney in both the United States and Germany, Straub maintains many geographic responsibilities, including working across multiple markets in Europe, Middle East, Africa, India and Asia Pacific. In 2010, Straub moved to the United States to lead the legal function for the Wrigley Americas region. She later became vice president and general counsel for Wrigley globally, until her role expanded to include the chocolate business under Mars Wrigley Confectionery. Straub played an integral role in the KIND transaction and the integration of Mars Chocolate and Wrigley globally.

Kiolbassa Smoked Meats, San Antonio, Texas
Elmer Vazquez was named vice president of retail sales. Vazquez maintains more than 20 years of sales leadership experience in the retail grocery industry as well as experience in military sales, small format grocery and foodservice channels. Most recently, he served as vice president of customer development in foodservice national accounts for Tyson Foods.

Indigo Ag, Inc., Boston, Mass.
Ann Simonds joined the board of directors. Simonds maintains deep expertise in marketing management, customer insight, consumer products and integrated marketing, as well as broad operating experience in wheat, cocoa and sugar. During her 20-year career at General Mills, Simonds served as president of Pillsbury, Betty Crocker and Immaculate Baking, and most recently, as chief marketing officer, where she led the company's marketing function and marketing services organization, Gcom. Her leadership directly enabled philanthropic milestones, including the Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories literacy program, the Stirring Up Wishes campaign for the Make a Wish Foundation and Bake the Change, a Betty Crocker program. She also supervised General Mills’ community initiatives, including the United Way campaign and the Women's Forum. Simonds was closely involved with Partners in Food Solutions, an initiative started by General Mills to strengthen food security, improve nutrition and increase economic development across Africa. Before joining General Mills, Simonds spent five years in product management at Johnson & Johnson.

FOODSERVICE:
Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc., Canton, Mass.
The parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins promoted three executives to vice president roles. Brian Gilbert was promoted to vice president, retail business development, responsible for growing the company's global consumer packaged goods business and channel partnerships for both Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, which includes driving strategic partnerships with The Coca-Cola Co., The J.M. Smucker Co., Keurig Green Mountain, JetBlue Airways Corp., Amtrak and other retailers. Gilbert has been with Dunkin' Brands for 14 years, during which time he developed and launched several key products and programs, including Dunkin' Donuts K-Cup Pods, Dunkin' Donuts ready-to-drink iced coffee beverages and the Dunkin' Donuts-Amtrak partnership. Gilbert maintains 30 years of experience helping prominent consumer brands grow through retail. His background includes management positions with Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., Quaker Oats Co.'s Gatorade division and Pepsi-Cola Co.  Frank Barone was promoted to vice president, financial management and business analytics, responsible for providing tactical and strategic direction to the business analysis finance function across both brands. In his new role, he will lead the business analytics teams for both Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins U.S., focusing on sales forecasting and reporting, promotional and test analytics, demand planning and management of marketing spend. He will work closely with marketing, operations, supply chain and key franchisee advisory bodies to ensure alignment on processes and procedures to manage all aspects of product demand. Barone will also assume additional responsibility for brand and loyalty customer level analytics and reporting. Barone joined Dunkin' Brands in 2001, and prior to his promotion, served as senior director, business analytics, where he was responsible for the management of Dunkin' Donuts U.S. advertising fund, Dunkin' Donuts demand planning function and Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins business analytics. Prior to Dunkin' Brands, Barone served as financial analyst for Northrop Grumman Corp./DOD Consultants, LLC and as business analyst for Public Consulting Group. Lastly, Mathias Piercy was promoted to regional vice president, South Central, tasked with leading operations and development for Dunkin' Donuts' South Central region. Piercy maintains 25 years of quick-service restaurant experience, beginning with his first job as a shift manager in high school. He has been with Dunkin' Brands for 10 years, first serving as an operations manager and business development manager, and then operations director for Mid-Atlantic in 2014. Most recently, he supported operations for all U.S. combo restaurants as combo operations director, where he played a critical role in the development and implementation of the Baskin-Robbins brand strategy, while also serving as the operations lead for Dunkin' Donuts' NextGen restaurant design. Prior to Dunkin' Brands, Piercy held various management and operations positions with other franchise networks, including Taco Bell and KFC.

SUPPLIERS:
United States Cold Storage (USCS), Voorhees, N.J.
Larry Alderfer was promoted to the new position of chief operating officer, effective March 1, assuming responsibility for regional operations in five regions. Previously, Alderfer was senior vice president, and will retain responsibilities for business development, corporate development, transportation/logistics and information technology. Alderfer began his USCS career in 1998 as operations manager, Union City, Calif., and was promoted to general manager in 2000. After his positions in California, Alderfer returned to the Northeast to assume the corporate duties as director of transportation, where he set the groundwork and foundation for this department to become a well-structured group. Alderfer’s role then expanded to include corporate development, and was promoted to vice president, corporate development and logistics.

Shuttleworth, Huntington, Ind.
Tim Updike was hired as aftermarket sales manager, responsible for growing new and existing aftermarket parts and service business and enhancing Shuttleworth's customer support experience. Updike possesses over 25 years of experience in leadership, product support and global project delivery. Most recently, he managed the agricultural technology segment for McAllister Machinery.

Benchmark, Statham, Ga.
Andrew Entrikin was hired as regional sales manager for the company’s South Central region, which comprises of Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Entrikin will play an integral part in selling a variety of Benchmark’s line of packaging products, including automatic infeeds, conveyors, pouch machinery and more. Entrikin comes from the Barry Wehmiller Co., where he played a key role in their aftermarket sales team. 

TruTag Technologies, Emeryville, Calif.
Alexandre Fong was named director of hyperspectral imaging for the HinaLea Imaging business unit. Meanwhile, Janette Wilson was appointed U.S. sales director and Kevin Lynch was hired as European sales director.

BluWrap, London
Ola Strand was appointed chief executive officer. Since joining the company in 2016, Strand has developed strong strategic customer relationships in Europe. Previously, he’s served as chief executive officer for large retail and logistics companies.

Zappix, Inc., Burlington, Mass.
Yossi Abraham was appointed president. Abraham most recently served as vice president, global business development and general manager of North America at Allot. Previous to that, he was chief marketing officer of Excelacom, and vice president global services sales and marketing with Comverse.

Barcom, Inc., Chattanooga, Tenn.
John Rewcastle was tapped as owner and president, effective immediately, taking over for Jim Ledbetter, who retired from his position as president after 27 years. Rewcastle was chief programmer and owner of Rewcastle Computer Services until 1991, when he joined as co-owner and partner of Barcom.

Baumer Ltd., Southington, Conn.
Greg Saganich was named new business development manager for process sensors. Saganich maintains 35 years’ experience in process instrumentation, sensors, process control, factory automation and HVACR. He’s also a U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force veteran with service in Egypt, Afghanistan and Iraq.

NETZSCH Pumps North America, LLC, Exton, Pa.
David Kirk was appointed business field manager for North America for the food and pharmaceutical industry, responsible for managing and growing the company’s food market penetration. Kirk maintains a strong background in pumps, having spent more than 20 years in the pump industry. He has experience in sales, customer service and product management of sanitary process equipment, and has worked in Europe, North America and in South and Central America.