ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:
The Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC), UK
Cristina Melenchon joins as events manager, tasked with managing the FPC’s Fresh Awards as well as developing a new program of events, workshops and other activities for members. Previously, she served as events manager at a large magazine publishing house, where she organized various types of events in the rail industry, including awards, exhibitions, conferences and membership club events. Before that, she spent 15 years as a freelance marketing consultant in the events industry, and has worked with large corporate organizers and small entrepreneurial start-ups in the automotive, IT, containerization, energy, construction, horticulture and retail industries. And, Jenny Palmer was named membership manager, acting as a liaison with FPC members to support their business and develop new relationships across the fresh fruit, vegetable and cut flower sectors of the industry. Palmer began her career working as a florist. In 1997, she moved to a fast-moving consumer goods role in flowers, where she was responsible for procurement of cut flowers from British and international growers. Moving on, she worked as a specialist horticulture buyer at Waitrose & Partners, focusing on the development of peak event ranges across flowers, plants and value-added gift ranges. In 2004, she relocated to the Netherlands, and then to the United States, where she continued to work in commercial roles in the flower industry. Since returning to the UK in 2010, she has set up a consultancy in horticulture and worked in buying and sales for an online gardening retailer.

AIB International, Manhattan, Kan.
Valerie Olson, senior director, bakery consulting and food labeling, will step up to lead the association’s baking initiatives in North America and Latin America, after Brian Strouts, vice president of baking and food technical services, announced his retirement. Strouts started with AIB International in 1991 as head of research and technical services. Since then, he’s led a team of food and baking scientists to help AIB International’s clients problem solve, evaluate product quality, develop new products and train technical staff in bakeries. He was promoted to the vice president role in 2013, where he has spearheaded the development of several Baking Process Kill Step Calculators. Prior to joining AIB International, Strouts worked for 11 years for Entenmenn’s and Vista Bakery.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:
Valley Fine Foods, Benicia, Calif.
Todd Nettleton, currently chief commercial officer, will lead as new chief executive officer. Since joining Valley Fine Foods, Nettleton has led the charge for innovation in the refrigerated aisle. Nettleton maintains more than 20 years of experience in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. Previously, he was general manager at J.M. Smucker and vice president of sales at Big Heart Pet Brands.

Good Foods, LLC, Pleasant Prairie, Wis.
Danyel O’Connor was appointed executive vice president of sales and marketing. Prior to her promotion, she worked in tandem with Good Foods for more than nine years, including as executive vice president during a key transitional period in a consultant capacity. And, and Juan Larios was promoted to director of Mexico operations, where he will primarily focus on expanding the company’s guacamole production in Mexico. Larios is an industrial chemist with 30 years of experience leading operations teams and serving as a quality assurance technical service manager. Larios served in his previous role for 20 months.

Sysco Corp., Houston, Texas
Edward Shirley was elected independent lead director, effective immediately, following the retirement of Jackie Ward and the election of Tom Bené as chairman of the board. Shirley will be responsible for coordinating the activities of the independent directors, serving as a liaison between the chairman, president, CEO and the other independent directors and helping to facilitate the board's oversight and shareholder responsiveness. Shirley served as president and CEO of Bacardi Ltd. from 2012-2014. Prior to that, he was vice chairman of Procter & Gamble, and held several senior executive positions during his 27 years with The Gillette Co., which was purchased by Procter & Gamble in 2005. He is currently a director on the board of New York Life Insurance Co., and previously served on the boards of Elizabeth Arden, Inc. and Time Warner Cable Inc.

Handy Seafood Inc., Salisbury, Md.
Angela Stewart was tapped foodservice business development manager for Midwest region, effective Nov. 12. Stewart began her career working in restaurant and hotel management, and for the past 10 years, has worked as a sales consultant for Gordon Food Service/Limson Trading.

FOODSERVICE:
Dickey's Barbecue Pit, Dallas, Texas
Jim Perkins was named vice president of international sales, responsible for working with the franchise sales team to continue growing the Dickey's Barbecue Pit brand internationally. Perkins maintains more than 10 years of international operations and development experience. Most recently, he worked with MAM Food Co. and Papa Murphy's, assisting with their international development.

SUPPLIERS:
Port of Oakland, Oakland, Calif.
Kevin Fong was named IT director, replaces acting IT director Kyle Mobley, who will return to his role as aviation information technology manager at Oakland International Airport. Fong maintains 30 years’ experience in systems management. He spent the last 13 years as IT director for university development and alumni relations at the University of California, Berkeley.

CHEP USA, Atlanta
Jake Gilene was appointed senior vice president, sales and customer service, taking over for Dan Martin, who was recently named president, IFCO North America. Gilene will be responsible for commercial strategy and delivering new products, services and solutions. For the past 12 years, Gilene has served in numerous customer-facing roles, including vice president of retail supply chain solutions and vice president of global business development.

Vivian Co., St. Louis, Mo.
Adam Fanger was promoted to executive vice president, where he will oversee all departments of the company. Fanger has been with Vivian for 14 years, serving as customer service coordinator, sales representative, national sales manager, and most recently, vice president of sales and service. And, Bill Caruso was promoted to vice president of operations, where he will manage shipping, service and project management. Caruso maintains a 30-year career with Vivian, having served as service technician, customer service coordinator, project manager, and most recently, general manager.

Swisslog Logistics Automation Americas, Newport News, Va.
Tom Drivas was appointed vice president of integrated systems for the e-commerce/retail business unit. Drivas maintains more than 20 years of experience in the material handling industry, having previously served in sales and management positions with Dematic, Wynright, and most recently, enVista, where he led the design solutions practice that provides supply chain and logistics consulting services. Also, David Schwebel was named new vice president of business development and market intelligence. Schwebel previously served as Swisslog’s senior director of business development. And, prior to joining Swisslog, Schwebel worked as managing executive with Material Handling Industry (MHI). He’s also held a number of leadership, strategy, engineering and business design roles at Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, and worked as a consultant, where he executed business process redesign and improvement projects for automated warehouses, packaging suppliers and supply chain information technology integrators.