ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:
American Bakers Association (ABA), Washington, D.C.
Newly elected officers for the April 2018 - April 2020 board of directors are include Erin Sharp, group vice president, manufacturing, The Kroger Co., who will replace Fred Penny, president, Bimbo Bakeries USA, to serve as chair. Penny will serve as immediate past chair, replacing Rich Scalise, chairman and CEO, Hearthside Food Solutions. Bradley Alexander, president, fresh packaged bread business unit, Flowers Foods, will continue to server as the first vice chair. Cordia Harrington, chief executive officer, The Bakery Cos., will continue to serve as second vice chair. Brian LeComte, treasurer, Gold Medal Bakery, will replace Sharp as treasurer. William Quigg, president, Richmond Baking, will serve as executive committee at-large member. Luc Mongeau, president of Weston Foods, also joined as new director of the board.

National Livestock Producers Association (NLPA), Colorado Springs, Colo.
Kraig Roesch was named chief executive officer, tasked with heading up several associated organizations that are administered and managed by NLPA, including the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) and the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB). Roesch (pronounced Rush) brings a farm background and 18 years of experience working with livestock producers and livestock marketing associations. Previously, he served as regional director for USDA’s packers and stockyard division.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Washington, D.C.
Ken Isley was appointed foreign agricultural service (FAS) administrator. Isley most recently served as special adviser for Corteva Agriscience, the agriculture division of DowDuPont. For the previous five years, he served as vice president, general counsel, secretary at Dow AgroSciences, and was a member of Dow AgroSciences’ corporate management committee. Isley was also associate general counsel of Dow, with oversight of Dow’s Latin America legal group. He spent nearly 29 years of service at Dow, beginning his career with the firm in 1989. Isley is a member of the Indiana Bar Association, Michigan Bar Association and the American Corporate Counsel Association. Martin Barbre was elected risk management agency (RMA) administrator. Barbre owns and operates Chestin Farms and grows 6,000 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat, grain sorghum and alfalfa, as well as specialty crops. He is past president of the National Corn Growers Association Corn Board and a member of the Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA), having served on the board of directors from 1995-2006. Barbre also served as vice president of the ICGA in 2003 and president in 2004. In addition, Tommie Williams was named minister-counselor for agriculture. Williams began his career as an onion farmer, and later founded several businesses, including marketing native pine straw and growing olives on a 30-acre farm. He has worked in Italy, China, Belize and Israel. Williams was elected to the Georgia State Senate in 1998, eventually rising to the ranks of majority leader and president pro tempore before retiring in 2006. 

Potatoes USA, Denver, Colo.
Dan Moss was elected chair, effective March 15. Moss will be serving his third year on the board and his second on the executive committee. Last year, he served as co-chair of the research committee. Moss is chief executive officer of Moss Ag, where he operates as a grower for the dehydrated, fresh, frozen and seed sectors as well as a packer and shipper. He has been farming for 48 years, and primarily grows Russet varieties. Moss also served as president of the National Potato Council.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:
JOH, Billerica, Mass.
Matt Robillard joined as an account manager. Robillard maintains 18 years’ experience in the food industry, most recently with Advantage Sales & Marketing. He has also worked on various client accounts, including Frito Lay Joint Ventures, Heartland, Smucker's Pet and US Nonwovens, and has worked with many customers in the New England market, including Bozzuto’s, Dave’s, Roche Bros., Shaw’s and Trucchi’s.

Growers Express/Green Giant Fresh, Salinas, Calif.
Mark Dendle joined as chief financial officer. Dendle maintains a background in commodities, distribution, manufacturing and finance.

ARYZTA, Switzerland
Gregory Sklikas was appointed CEO Europe, succeeding Dermot Murphy, who is stepping down from his position in May after 20 years of service with the company. Sklikas is a seasoned international business leader, who has spent the whole of his career in food, including 14 years with Unilever and 11 years with Royal Friesland Campina. His most recent role was chief operating officer, EMEA for Friesland Campina, with full P&L responsibility for €4bn sales, 10,000 people, 14 operating companies, overseeing 35 countries and 21 factories in the region. Prior to this, he ran the South East Europe and Greece divisions.

Litehouse, Inc., Sandpoint, Idaho
Dorrie Francis was promoted to vice president of technical services, charged with overseeing food safety, product quality, regulatory compliance and research and development. Francis been with Litehouse since 2013, and maintains more than 17 years of progressive food industry experience with responsibilities encompassing areas of R&D, regulatory and food safety management. Under her leadership, Litehouse earned the Safe Quality Food (SQF) Level 3 certification for its Simply Artisan Reserve’s manufacturing plant. Francis currently serves on the Association of Dressings and Sauces executive technical board.

BCfresh, Canada
Steve Young was appointed vice president, sales, effective April 23, taking over for Brian Faulkner, who will transition to vice president, business development and marketing. Young maintains almost 15 years of produce experience, with the last 7 years spent in senior sales management positions.

PRO*ACT, Monterey, Calif.
Jeff Oberman was named vice president of strategic programs. Oberman brings a vast array of produce industry leadership, including a 21-year tenure at United Fresh, where he served as vice president of trade relations. During his time with United Fresh, Oberman focused on providing resources to help maximize produce sales, merchandising and procurement operations at retail and foodservice companies. He also led efforts in new channel development for produce sales at convenience stores and other emerging markets.

FOODSERVICE:
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Denver, Colo.
Marissa Andrada was named chief human resources officer, effective April 23. Andrada comes from Kate Spade & Co., where she served as senior vice president of human resources and chief human resources officer, where she was responsible for positioning the company and its culture for growth, including developing and implementing plans to recruit top-tier executive and design talent for the global, multi-channel lifestyle brand. Prior to joining Kate Spade, Andrada held several senior level positions in human resources at Starbucks, most recently serving as senior vice president, partner resources for the Americas, where she led innovation and strategy for retail employee programs, including employee experience, engagement and compensation. Before joining Starbucks, Andrada held a variety of human resources roles with increasing responsibility for companies such as Gamestop, Red Bull North America, Universal Studios and Pepsico/Pizza Hut.

SUPPLIERS:
SUN Automation Group, Glen Arm, Md.
Greg Jones was promoted to vice president of global sales and aftermarket, tasked with overseeing SUN’s international sales teams as well as operations of its Guangzhou, China, and Bristol, UK, locations. He will also be responsible for identifying strategic acquisitions, and maintaining strong relationships with global OEM partners to further support customer aftermarket needs worldwide. Previously, Jones was director of sales and marketing for SUN Automation. Prior to joining SUN in 2012, he spent over 15 years in the manufacturing and packaging sector, focused on delivering equipment and material load containment solutions to clients across various sectors. Jones also sits on the board for SUN Automation Group, and is an active member of TAPPI, FBA Prep UK and AICC, the Independent Packaging Association.

The Greenbrier Cos., Inc., Lake Oswego, Ore.
Owen Whitehall was promoted to executive vice president, global manufacturing organization (GMO), North American operations and global sourcing. This move will deploy Whitehall's broad experience in global sourcing and manufacturing operations for future growth. Martin Graham assumed the expanded role of executive vice president, GMO international operations and global engineering. He will continue to maintain oversight of all engineering and quality assurance functions company-wide and provide GMO support for all company activities in North America, Europe, GCC and Brazil. Alejandro Arias was promoted to vice president of Mexican operations, while Zane Peterson was promoted to vice president of global sourcing. Oziel Salinas joined as general manager of Greenbrier's Gunderson-GIMSA joint venture. Brian Comstock was named executive vice president, sales and marketing, and will continue management of commercial sales and marketing activities and strategy for the Americas, and supervising market activity in North America, Brazil and greater Latin America.

Navistar International Corp., Lisle, Ill.
Raymond Miller was named to the board of directors, effective immediately, replacing Michael Sirignano, who resigned from the board after serving for more than four years. Miller is a principal at MHR Fund Management LLC, and serves on the board of directors at Erickson, Inc. Prior to joining MHR in 2011, Miller spent five years at Guggenheim Partners Investment Management LLC, most recently as an associate, investing in a variety of industries. Sirignano joined Navistar's board of directors in March 2014, when he served as a principal at MHR Fund Management LLC.

Primex Plastics Corp., Richmond, Ind.
Ray Schwartz was named product manager, protective packaging. Schwartz maintains extensive experience in the reusable, returnable packaging industry, specifically plastic pallets, bulk containers, handheld containers and custom sleeve pack and interior dunnage products. He will primarily focus on selling for Primex’s design and fabrication division. Previously, he worked at ORBIS Corp. And, Justin Rosenbleeth joined as territory business manager for the Southeast. Rosenbleeth maintains extensive experience in the plastics industry, having managed sales, production and engineering for compounders, a molding equipment OEM, molded products manufacturers and materials suppliers.

Neogen Corp., Lansing, Mich.
Dr. Robert Donofrio was named vice president of food safety research and development. Donofrio joined Neogen in 2016 after having enjoyed a career with NSF International, where worked for 15 years, starting from a laboratory bench position and advancing to director of applied research. At Neogen, Donofrio coordinated U.S. research activities as well as with the company's research teams in Scotland and England.

JAXPORT, Jacksonville, Fla.
Beth McCague was named interim chief financial officer, effective May 7. McCague, who has been serving as an advisor to JAXPORT’s CEO and finance group, will assume responsibility for the port’s budget and accounting, treasury, payroll, procurement, economic forecasting/planning and external auditing functions, will oversee JAXPORT’s $600 million capital program and will be JAXPORT’s primary liaison with bondholders, lenders and credit rating agencies. Prior to joining JAXPORT, McCague managed the $1.6 billion Jacksonville Police & Fire Pension Fund through a transition in leadership, stabilizing and modernizing the organization. She is a current corporate board member of Ameris Bancorp, and has served in many high-level positions with major banking and investment firms

IN MEMORIUM: ARTHUR HANDTMANN, HANDTMANN GROUP

Arthur Handtmann, president of the Handtmann Group Advisory Board, passed away April 14. 

Arthur was architect of the company’s development from a regional foundry in Germany into today’s international group of companies with five global divisions and 3,600 employees.

“Let us all continue in the footsteps of Arthur Handtmann, and continue his life's work just the way he would have wanted it,” says Thomas Handtmann, his son and fourth-generation president of the Handtmann Holding and Management Group, Germany.

IN MEMORIUM: RICK LESTER ANTLE, TANIMURA & ANTLE

Rick Lester Antle, co-founder of Tanimura & Antle, Salinas, Calif., passed away April 14. 

Antle has been president and principal Tanimura & Antle since its inception in 1982, and chief executive officer since 2003. Prior to the formation of Tanimura & Antle, he was vice president of Bud Antle, Inc., which eventually became a division of Castle & Cooke, Inc., known today as Dole Fresh Vegetables. 

His latest achievements include the development of a housing project that provided homes for 800 farmworker employees at Spreckels Crossing. Additionally, he spearheaded the transition to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), which gives employees the chance to be part owners. He also introduced new technologies and systems into the industry.

Previous to his time with Tanimura & Antle, he served as chairman of Monterey County Water Resources Agency, and served on numerous boards, including Pacific Ag Rentals, Iceberg Lettuce Research, United Fresh Produce Association, Earthbound Farm, LLC, Ready Pac Produce, Inc., Dulcinea Farms, LLC and the Cal Poly College of Agriculture Advisory Council.   

He also receive The United Fresh Produce Association 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award, The Packer 2005 Produce Man of the Year and Cal Poly 1994 Department of Agriculture Distinguished Alumnus, and was recognized by the Salinas Chamber of Commerce as an outstanding young farmer. 

Antle is preceded in death by his father, Bob Antle. He is survived by his wife, Tonya Antle, his mom, Sue Antle, his sons, Brian (Amanda) Antle, Jeff Antle, Anthony Pavich, daughter, Natalie (Eric) Drobny and grandchildren, Cameron and Spencer Antle. He is also survived by his siblings and many nieces and nephews. 

A Celebration of Life Ceremony will be held at the Tanimura & Antle headquarters on April 27 at 2 p.m. In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests that donations be made directly to The Rick & Tonya Antle Community Foundation Fund, 2354 Garden Road, Monterey, CA  93940, to support Antle’s favorite charities.