ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:
The North American Meat Institute (NAMI), Washington, D.C.
Clarissa Moreaux joined as director of regulatory affairs. Most recently, Moreaux served as quality systems manager at Dine Brands Global, Inc., where she reviewed third-party audit reports, conducted on-site audits and evaluated additional food safety documentation to determine and communicate food safety risks of all protein, seafood, dairy, produce and beverage suppliers and distribution centers. Moreaux also developed quality and food safety criteria that aligned with brand expectations, as well as with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food Safety Modernizations Act and third-party audit standards. Prior to joining Dine Brands Global, Moreaux was regulatory and quality assurance manager for Lyons Magnus, where she gained critical regulatory and export experience overseeing development of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-compliant labels, reviewing formulas for FDA and international compliance in leading foreign markets and developing all regulatory product statements. In addition, Moreaux crafted and implemented an internal audit program and prepared the company to pass third-party audits. Previously, Moreaux worked as an enforcement, investigations and analysis officer for USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, where she conducted food safety audits, provided regulatory guidance to small companies, performed verification reviews, participated in recall activities and educated establishments on federal regulatory requirements, among other responsibilities.

Association of American Railroads (AAR), Washington, D.C.
Ian Jefferies will become the organization’s next president and CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2019. Prevoiusly, Jefferies served as AAR’s senior vice president of government affairs and as a senior policy advisor on Capitol Hill, where he’s worked on a bipartisan basis to build consensus and broad coalitions in support of railroad’s policy priorities before Congress and the administration. He also helped secure significant legislative victories, including managing advocacy surrounding the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015, securing tank car safety enhancements in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act and defeating multiple efforts to increase truck size and weight limits. Prior to joining AR in 2013, Jefferies worked for more than a decade in government, first as a senior policy advisor to the chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, then for the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of the Inspector General and the U.S. Government Accountability Office before working on Capitol Hill.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:
Cooke Aquaculture Inc., Canada
Claire Ryan was named director of public relations. Ryan previously served as manager of public affairs of the Canadian Automobile Association – Atlantic (CAA), and has held roles with Enterprise Saint John, NATIONAL Public Relations and MT&L Public Relations Ltd.

Tyson Foods, Inc., Springdale, Ark.
Noel White was appointed president and CEO, effective Sept. 30, succeeding Tom Hayes, who is stepping down for personal reasons. White maintains over 30 years of experience in the food industry. He previously served as group president of Tyson’s beef, pork and international unit, responsible for delivering top and bottom line growth for the company’s beef and pork segments as well as the international business. He spent two decades at IBP prior to its 2001 acquisition by Tyson Foods. He also served as president of poultry from 2013-2017, and served in numerous sales, management and company officer positions. Hayes was named chief executive officer in November 2016.

Sysco Corp., Houston, Texas
Jackie Ward announced plans to retire from the company’s board of directors, effective Nov. 16, after more than 17 years of service, including the last five as non-executive chairman. Tom Bené, Sysco’s president and CEO, was elected chairman of the board, effective upon Ward’s retirement. Bené joined Sysco in 2013, and has held a variety of roles at the company before being appointed president and CEO in January, responsible for overseeing all of Sysco’s business operations, commercial functions and supply chain organization. Prior to joining Sysco, he held a variety of positions in marketing, sales, operations, franchise development and general management during a 23-year career at PepsiCo, culminating with his role as president of PepsiCo Foodservice.

Hormel Foods Corp., Austin, Minn.
Kurt Mueller, senior vice president of consumer products sales (CPS) and vice president, announced plans to retire after 39 years of service with the company. Mueller joined the company in 1979 in sales, and advanced through various sales roles before becoming product manager, district manager and director of retail marketing. His career continued to advance in sales and marketing, and was named senior vice president of business planning for CPS in 2004 before assuming his current role in 2014.
As a result, Natosha Walsh, director of Albertsons and Safeway business for CPS, was named senior vice president of CPS and vice president of Hormel Foods, effective at the start of fiscal year 2019. Mueller maintains experience in logistics, sales planning, recruiting, succession planning and performance management. Throughout her career, she has held positions of increasing responsibility in supply chain, category management, customer account leadership and product management. Walsh has also been an active member of the Network of Executive Women for over 15 years. She was just named co-chair of the Boise chapter, where she is responsible for establishing this chapter.

Accent Food Services, Pflugerville, Texas
Dawn Piscitelli was named chief commercial officer, tasked with leading strategy for the customer and consumer experience and driving value proposition and leadership. Piscitelli maintains over 20 years of experience in brand strategy development, business development and communications. She has spent the last year working with Accent in go-to-market strategies and messaging. Prior to Accent Food Services, Piscitelli oversaw marketing, product development and business development for a private equity-backed healthy foods QSR, where she built their digital marketing platform, completed a re-brand and created new distribution channels by selling in to foodservice and grocers. She also served as vice president of strategy at MDC Partners, where she was also the leader of the brand strategy practice for several of their partner agencies. As a consultant, she guided and delivered growth for a wide range of clients, including Pfizer, Colgate-Palmolive, MillerCoors and Del Monte. In addition to consulting, Piscitelli has worked in marketing for Proctor & Gamble, Mars Inc. and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

Borden, Dallas, Texas
Satyaki Lodh was appointed chief information officer, effective immediately. Lodh maintains more than 27 years of experience in IT. Previously, she served as vice president of enterprise applications for Snyder’s-Lance, Inc., where she oversaw all corporate, sales and supply chain business systems, including ERP, business intelligence, mobile and cloud applications. Previously, Lodh worked in a variety of IT management roles at DS Waters of America and as a consultant for Tata Consultancy Services and iGate. 

Wholesale Produce Supply Co., Minneapolis, Minn.
Produce industry veteran Bob Reich joined as vice president of sales. Reich most recently served as Southeast regional category manager for US Foods, and prior to that, worked as director of procurement and sales for Fresh Link, the Pro*Act affiliated company. He maintains over 25 years’ experience in the produce industry in the foodservice, grower/shipper, brokerage and transportation sectors.

Strauss Brands, Franklin, Wis.
Mackenzie Waro joined as new livestock manager, responsible for helping the company expand its pre-certified network of 100% grass-fed and grass-finished beef producers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. 

Sanderson Farms, Inc., Laurel, Miss.
Edith Kelly-Green was elected to the company's board of directors, effective Sept. 20, who if re-elected, will serve for a term expiring in 2021. Kelly-Green is a partner in The KGR Group. Prior to starting this business in 2005, she worked for FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., where she served in many roles, including vice president and chief sourcing officer, as well as vice president-internal audit of FedEx. She is a member of the board of directors of Applied Industrial Technology and BULAB Holdings, Inc., and previously served as a director of Paragon National Bank and was a senior auditor for Deloitte in Memphis.

Welch’s, Concord, Mass.
Trevor Bynum was appointed president and CEO, effective Oct. 1, succeeding Brad Irwin, who will be retiring after 10 years leading the organization. Bynum maintains close to 20 years of consumer packaged goods experience, holding down several marketing, general management and leadership roles with companies such as General Mills and White Wave Foods. He most recently served as president of Schwan’s Food Co.’s foodservice division. He also spent 8 years in the United States Army, where he achieved the rank of Captain.

Symphony RetailAI, Dallas, Texas
Arnaud Gauthier was promoted to president and chief customer officer, EMEA, responsible for sales, services and customer success across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and helping the company expand its category management, supply chain, personalized marketing and customer insights solutions. Gauthier will also help bring to market Symphony RetailAI’s latest industry-specific innovations, including CINDE (Conversational INsights and Decision Engine). Gauthier previously served as senior vice president, Southern Europe.

FOODSERVICE:
RAVE Restaurant Group, Dallas, Texas
The parent company of Pizza Inn and Pie Five Pizza Co. named Bob Bafundo as president of RAVE, where he will oversee day-to-day operations for all RAVE brands. Bafundo joined RAVE in 2016 as president of Pizza Inn, where he developed and implemented initiatives leading to six straight quarters of positive same-store sales and a resurgence in restaurant growth. He also led the brand to introduce a new non-traditional brand, PIE, as a complement to the brand refresh and expansion of Pizza Inn. And, Andrea Allen was appointed chief accounting and administrative officer, tasked with overseeing all accounting, finance and administrative needs. Allen joined RAVE last year as vice president of accounting/controller. She has been instrumental in streamlining accounting processes through new technology initiatives and collaborating with company leaders on financial planning and reporting. Previously, she served as vice president of procurement and information systems and controller at Bar Louie, BL Restaurant Operations, and was a financial consultant for TGI Fridays.

Inspire Brands, Atlanta
Lyle Tick was named president of Buffalo Wild Wings, taking over for John Bowie, who has been serving as interim president of Buffalo Wild Wings since February 2018. Bowie will resume his responsibilities as chief operating officer of Buffalo Wild Wings. Prior to joining Buffalo Wild Wings, Tick was managing director for Walgreens Boots Alliance beauty brands business in the Americas. He also worked for Bacardi, where he served as senior global category director and vice president of marketing for North America. Prior to Bacardi, Tick held a variety of positions within marketing and advertising agencies, including J. Walter Thompson, Gotham, McGarryBowen and DDB.

Chuy’s Holdings, Inc., Austin, Texas
John Mountford was promoted to chief operating officer, effective Sept. 11. Mountford has served as the company's vice president of culinary operations since 2016. He joined the company in 2010, serving as area supervisor of operations from 2010-2013 and director of culinary operations from 2013-2016. Prior to joining Chuy’s, Mountford served as president and CEO of Sam Seltzers Steak House from 2007-2010 and as vice president of operations from 2006-2007. Prior to Sam Seltzers, he served in various operational leadership positions, including vice president of culinary operations for Cooker Bar and Grill and director of culinary operations for Houston’s Restaurants, where he opened over 30 new restaurants.

Darden Restaurants, Inc., Orlando, Fla.
The owner of Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V's elected Timothy Wilmott to the board of directors. Wilmott has served as chief executive officer of Penn National Gaming, Inc. since November 2013, and before that, served as the company’s president and COO. Previous to that, Wilmott served as chief operating officer of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. (now Caesars Entertainment Corp.) and as division president of the Eastern division. Additionally, Wilmott serves on the board of directors of Penn National Gaming, Inc. and is chairman of the American Gaming Association.

SUPPLIERS:
CBRE, Los Angeles
Brandon Famous was appointed chairman of the newly formed global retail occupier executive committee for establishing and leading CBRE’s global strategy for advising retailers on cross-border expansion. Famous maintains more than 30 years in retail real estate, advising retailers on international expansion. For instance, he co-founded Fameco Real Estate, which CBRE acquired in 2013. Tracy Proulx was named manager of supply chain advisory. Previously, Proulx spent more than 10 years managing Sears Holdings’ supply chain real estate amid its consolidation. Prior to that, she was director of supply chain solutions at AmeriCold Logistics and a supply chain consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Michael Skolnik was appointed senior consultant in supply chain advisory. Skolnik spent the last 12 years working as a senior business analyst at Fortna Inc., collecting, analyzing and applying supply chain data. Prior to that, he worked as a business analyst for OfficeMax Inc. And, Keith Fernandez served as director of warehouse operations and design. Fernandez maintains more than 20 years of supply chain, network and distribution-center design experience. He has worked on supply chain assignments with retailers, manufacturers and logistics providers, including Harrods, Aldi, Argos, De La Rue, Huntsman Chemicals, DHL and Yodel, among others

EVS, Boulder, Colo.
Kris Windlinx was appointed vice president of product, responsible for enhancing the mobe3 warehouse management system product experience. Windlinx maintains more than 20 years of experience in technology leadership positions focused on warehouse management and order management systems. Most recently, Windlinx served as vice president of digital operations for a leading online retailer, where he led the development of proprietary toolsets for managing digital catalog and developing in-house EDI and sales channel applications while integrating them with third-party drop shippers and marketplaces.

Linde Material Handling GmbH, Germany
Christian Harm was appointed to the management board for a 4-year period, effective Jan. 1, 2019, responsible for finance as well as for the production sites in Aschaffenburg and Weilbach, Germany.

Harm has been the KION Group's executive vice president corporate strategy since 2012. Prior to this, he managed the purchasing department for Linde AG's material handling business from 2003 onwards, and was appointed vice president purchasing of the KION Group in 2006. Between 1999-2003, he worked at McKinsey, and from 1992-1998, held a variety of administrative positions at Unilever.

Polymer Logistics, Tampa, Fla.
Eric Biddiscombe joined as country manager, Canada, responsible for all aspects of the Canadian market, including retailer and grower development, service, operations and asset management. Biddiscombe previously served as vice president of Canadian operations at Chill Fresh Produce, where he was responsible for the refrigerated produce distribution facility as well as sales across Eastern Canada. Prior to Chill Fresh, Biddiscombe spent 33 years with Loblaw Cos. Ltd., serving in leadership roles in supply chain, produce procurement, quality assurance, merchandising, process improvement and corporate social responsibility. He’s also served on the board of directors of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association for 9 years, and was tapped to participate in the Loblaw High Potential Program at the York University Schulich School of Business.

IN MEMORIUM: ARNAUD DARMONT, EUROPEAN MACHINE VISION ASSOCIATION

Arnaud Darmont, standards manager for the European Machine Vision Association (EMVA), Barcelona, passed away Sept. 12 after a tragic accident in the White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.

“With the death of Arnaud, the EMVA, and in more general, the entire imaging industry, lost a bright and driven person who contributed significantly to both educating and advancing the industry,” says Jochem Herrmann, president of EMVA. “Arnaud will be terribly missed. Our thoughts are with his parents and his brother.”  

Darmont dedicated his entire professional life to the computer vision industry. After his degree in electronic engineering from University of Liège (Belgium) in 2002, he started working in the field of CMOS image sensors and high dynamic range imaging. In 2008, he founded his own enterprise, APHESA, and has authored several publications as well as "High Dynamic Range Imaging – Sensors and Architectures.”

“By his profound knowledge of image sensors and by his rich experience, he helped to shape the EMVA 1288 standard to the globally used standard it is today. Arnaud was also busy advertising the standard all around the globe giving courses and educating the machine vision community,” says professor Dr. Bernd Jähne, chair of the EMVA 1288 Standard Group and EMVA board member.

He joined EMVA in December 2017 as standards manager, where he oversaw the development of EMVA standards and fostered cooperation with other imaging associations worldwide on the development and the dissemination of vision standards.

“We all remember how Arnaud took this role with enthusiasm and high commitment. Though he served in this position for a bit less than a year, he facilitated the start of two new EMVA standards and built bridges to other associations. As such, he established links with standards groups of IEEE and was an active member of SPIE and IS&T. The foundation he led during this time will be part of his legacy to the entire machine vision industry,” adds Herrmann.

IN MEMORIUM: CARL HERBEIN, HERBEIN + CO., INC.

Carl Herbein, founding partner of Herbein + Co., Inc., passed away Sept. 16.

“It is with heartfelt sadness that we announce the passing of Carl Herbein, CPA who founded Herbein + Co., Inc. in 1972. From humble origins at the Herbein family kitchen table, Carl was the driving force behind a firm that now has nine locations and over 200 employees. His dedication and influence reach far beyond the firm. Carl was a huge proponent of Berks County, and devoted his energy and resources toward strengthening the community. As a business leader, Carl left a great legacy. As a friend and mentor, his loss is particularly profound. Our firm is committed to continuing Carl’s legacy, and we will share his joy for life and continue his search for the next adventure,” says Michael Rowley, chief operating officer.

Carl also served as the firm’s president, CEO and partner in charge of the firm’s dairy practice. He visited and provided services to more than 150 dairy processing facilities of all types and sizes.

Carl was also a former president of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants.