ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS/UNIVERSITIES:
International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA), Madison, Wis.
Gaetano Auricchio, executive vice president of BelGioioso Cheese, Inc., assumed the role of the association’s chairman of the board. He has served on the board of directors since 2014. Other officers for 2019-20 are Dotty VanderMolen, Midwest director-fresh for Advantage Solutions, as executive vice chairman; Dominique Delugeau, senior vice president specialty cheese and international trade for Saputo Cheese USA Inc., as vice chairman; Peter Sirgy, executive vice president sales and marketing for Reser’s Fine Foods, Inc., as treasurer; and Rick Findlay, industry consultant, as immediate past-chairman. Industry leaders elected to serve 3-year terms on the board of directors are Steve Buffington, director of U.S. sales for Give and Go Prepared Foods Corp.; Curt Coolidge, general manager, in-store bakery for Superior Cake Products, Inc.; Dominique Delugeau, senior vice president, specialty cheese for Saputo Cheese USA Inc.; Mark Hadley, general vice president of bakery, Albertsons Cos.; Carmela Serebryany, president of Upper Crust Ltd.; and David Stearle, field sales for Land O’ Lakes Inc.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS/MARKET RESEARCH:
Verus International, Inc., Gaithersburg, Md.
Michael McGowan was named general counsel. McGowan maintains more than 25 years of experience. He most recently served in a similar role at Cava Group, where he led the legal efforts for the acquisition of Zoe’s Kitchen in November 2018. Previously, he served as a corporate consultant to Neustar, until it was acquired in August 2017. He also served as general counsel at AddThis, which was acquired by Oracle in 2016. McGowan also served as vice president, strategy and business development and associate general counsel at AOL and Time Warner, where he was instrumental in strategic investments.

Treeline Cheese, Kingston, N.Y.
Justin Lambeth was appointed chief executive officer, charged with leading the company’s continued rapid growth in specialty and mainstream consumer markets as well as the strategy for expanding market share in the foodservice business. Previously, Lambeth was chief commercial officer at NatureSweet Tomatoes, and served as chief marketing officer at Quaker. His background also includes experience leading global brands at PepsiCo, H.J. Heinz and Nabisco. He also served on the board of directors of the Make-a-Wish Foundation of North Texas and co-chaired the Frito-Lay United Way Campaign. 

Impossible Foods, Redwood City, Calif.
Dan Greene was named senior vice president of U.S. sales, effective immediately. Previously, Greene served as chief revenue officer for a conversational artificial intelligence startup, and served as an executive consultant with other early-stage software companies. Prior to that, Greene spent 11 years overseeing large teams and revenue-generating business units at Google and Twitter. Greene graduated from The United States Naval Academy and served over 10 years as a Navy fighter pilot and director of operations for multiple aviation units. He left active duty in 2004.

Rich Products, Buffalo, N.Y.
Effective Jan. 1, 2020, long-time chief executive officer Bill Gisel will become executive vice chair of Rich Holdings, Inc., the holding company for all Rich family business enterprises. Gisel joined Rich’s in 1982 as the company’s first general counsel. During his tenure, he’s served in wide range of key leadership roles, including spearheading the company’s international expansion and ultimate transformation into a global entity. In 1996, he became president and COO, and was named chief executive officer in 2006. Under his tenure, Rich’s has more than quadrupled in size, while continuing to expand globally. With that move, current president and COO Richard Ferranti will be promoted, succeeding Gisel as new chief executive officer. Ferranti rose up the ranks of Rich’s after joining the company in 1986. Early in his tenure, he worked in a series of sales and marketing roles, each serving to expand his knowledge and responsibility across Rich’s global footprint. In 1997, he became president of the company’s International Business Group, and then president of its North America Business Group, before his promotion to chief operating officer in 2012. Ferranti was promoted to company president in April 2018, where he’s led the growth of Rich’s global footprint.

IMG Citrus, Vero Beach, Fla.
Veronique Sallin, vice president of sales and marketing, announced plans to retire after 40 years with the company. During her tenure with IMG Citrus, Sallin built and maintained strong relationships with customers worldwide. She helped establish the IMG Citrus brand and reputation, and will remain involved through the Florida season as a direct consultant. As a result, Sydney Allison was promoted to director of sales, tasked with constructing and implementing the sales strategy. Allison has been with the company since 2016, starting out as export-import program coordinator, before progressing to sales manager. 

Bridges Produce, Inc., Portland, Ore.
Fernando Rodriguez joined the sales team, in charge of sales, warehouse management and quality assurance. Rodriguez has been in the produce industry since he was 23 years old, when he started working in a produce warehouse as a dispatcher. He most recently worked at Franks Distributing, and prior to that, at SunFed and The Produce Exchange.

Weis Markets, Sunbury, Pa.
Matt Burke was promoted to regional vice president, where he will oversee the day-to-day operations of 67 stores located in Binghamton, N.Y.; Northeastern Pennsylvania; the Poconos; Northern New Jersey; and the Central Susquehanna Valley, including Sunbury and State College, Pa. Burke replaces Jimmy Daly, who retired. Burke joined the company in 2016 as district manager for the Central Susquehanna Valley/Sunbury. He maintains more than 25 years of store and multi-unit retail management experience. 

Tesco plc, UK
Ken Murphy was named group CEO, succeeding Dave Lewis, who announced plans to step down next year. Murphy maintains deep commercial, marketing and brand experience within retail and wholesale businesses. Previously, he was joint COO at Boots UK and Ireland before rising to executive vice president, CCO and president global brands at Walgreens Boots Alliance. Lewis has been with Tesco since 2014.

Midwest Dairy, St. Paul, Minn.
Molly Pelzer was named chief executive officer, effective Oct. 1, succeeding outgoing CEO Lucas Lentsch, who is for a leadership role with Dairy Management, Inc. Pelzer joined Midwest Dairy in 1984, and most recently served as chief experience officer, where she led the development of the organization’s strategic priorities. Prior to Midwest Dairy, she worked with the Midland Dairy Association, as well as Dairy Council, Inc., both former checkoff organizations that are now part of the Midwest Dairy region.

Agropur Cooperative, Canada
Émile Cordeau was named chief executive officer, effective Oct. 15, taking over for Robert Coallier, who announced plans to retire, effective Dec. 31. Since joining Agropur in 2013, Cordeau has occupied a series of positions, including most recently senior vice-president and CFO, in which he played a key role in the cooperative’s development. He also previously occupied the position of vice-president for the foodservice and proximity retail group, and was formerly in charge of the fine cheese business unit. Before joining Agropur, Cordeau worked for seven years at Dollarama, where he participated in its evolution from a privately held family-owned company to a major public company. Cordeau also acquired diversified experience in finance and mergers and acquisitions with companies such as Transcontinental and RBC Capital Markets. Coallier initially joined Agropur as a guest member of the board, and has been chief executive officer since 2012. Under his leadership, Agropur achieved dramatic growth, particularly in the U.S., market where Coallier implemented an acquisitions plan.

FOODSERVICE:
Salad Collective
Darden Coors was named chief executive officer and John Montgomery was appointed president, following the merger of MAD Greens and Snappy Salads. Chris Dahlander, founder and CEO of Snappy Salads, is stepping down from day-to-day operations, but will assume a role on the Salad Collective board of directors.

SUPPLIERS:
Alva Laval, Inc., Richmond, Va.
Ester Codina was appointed senior vice president, service sales and business development, charged with leading the sales and business development activities for Alfa Laval’s U.S. service business across its energy, food, water and marine market divisions. Codina previously served as marketing manager for Sandvik Hard Materials in the UK and Sweden, then moved to Sandvik Coromant as vice president, channels and business development, Americas. Most recently, she was managing director of Sandvik Coromant, Mexico, responsible for the Sandvik Holding Co. entities in Mexico. Meanwhile, Dennis Jönsson was elected chairman of the board of Alfa Laval AB, succeeding Anders Narvinger, who is retiring after 17 years as chairman. Jönsson most recently served as president and CEO at Tetra Pak, a position he held for 14 years, and after 36 years in the company.

Inteligistics, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa.
Jerry D’Amore joined the board of directors. D’Amore maintains over 40 years of global experience in farming, greenhouse production and operations and product flow and quality chain management as well as executive management positions in ag majors, including Driscoll’s, Dole and Chiquita Brands. For the past several years, he’s offered consulting services to the agriculture industry to set up and streamline new business development, quality assurance systems, productivity and profitability improvements. In the new role, D’Amore will build out and implement corporate strategy for growth, community and industry relations, represent Inteligistics at national and international industry and government events and leverage his corporate relationships and knowledge to enhance Inteligistics’ reach, product supply and service opportunities.

Thyssenkrupp AG, Germany
Martina Merz will take over as chief executive officer, effective Oct. 1, succeeding Guido Kerkhoff, who is leaving the company. Dr. Klaus Keysberg was appointed to the executive board, responsible for the materials businesses. Keysberg has held various positions at thyssenkrupp since 1996, and has been chief executive officer of the business area materials services since the beginning of the year. Dr. Siegfried Russwurm will take over for Merz. The former Siemens executive board member has been a member of the supervisory board since April.

VeriTread, Lakeland, Fla.
Tim Paulsen was named director of operations. Paulsen maintains 13 years of expertise in the logistics and supply chain sector, with an extensive background in transportation management and freight technology. Over the last two years, Paulsen has held several roles at Uber Freight, including head of West Coast carrier operations, head of lane development, head of fleet product sales and head of Uber freight refrigerated. Prior to Uber Freight, Paulsen served as senior procurement rep with XPO Logistics (formerly Covered Logistics) since 2008.

NextShift Robotics, Lowell, Mass.
Mark Grimes joined the sales team. Grimes maintains over 20 years’ experience matching technology solutions to the needs of enterprise manufacturing and supply chains, focusing on robotic devices, digital supply networks and product cost management tools. 

IFCO, Tampa, Fla.
Jonathan Brooks was appointed vice president, retail sales. Brooks maintains experience in process improvement and change management, people development, strategic sales, supply chain optimization and design, transportation procurement and logistics execution. Brooks most recently served as senior director, global network optimization and design at CHEP, where he created and managed multi-disciplined project teams and collaborated with supply chain executives across the globe to minimize supply chain costs and optimize capital investments. He also served in several roles at CHEP after joining the company in 2002, including senior director, national sales for CHEP Recycled Pallet Solutions; senior director, retail business development, CHEP North America; and director, strategic planning, CHEP North America.

Johnson Controls International plc, Ireland
Tomas Brannemo was named vice president and president, building solutions Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America (EMEALA), effective Sept. 30, where he will oversee Johnson Controls Building Technologies & Solutions operations across EMEALA. Brannemo succeeds Jeff Williams, who was appointed vice president and president, global products, building technologies and solutions. Brannemo most recently served a senior vice president, water infrastructure and Europe commercial team, and president, Xylem Europe Gmbh, where he was responsible for all aspects of global operations as well as overseeing Xylem's key functions for the European region. Earlier in his career, Brannemo served in a number of leadership positions in Xylem and held positions with Volvo Construction Equipment and ABB Automation Products.

JAXPORT, Jacksonville, Fla.
Ben Buben was appointed new director of cargo sales, specializing in auto and roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) cargoes, attracting new vehicle and business and managing the port’s relationships with auto processors, original equipment manufacturers and ocean carriers. He will also oversee the port’s military and project cargo accounts. Buben maintains more than two decades of experience in automotive operations and business development. He most recently served as vice president of Pasha Automotive Services, where he managed multi-million dollar contracts and oversaw end-to-end supply chain management for OEMs, service providers and dealer groups. Frank Camp, who previously managed the port’s auto and RoRo business, shifted to an expanded role focusing on developing new and existing container cargo business with accounts throughout the Southeast United States. In this position, Camp also manages the port’s relationships with freight forwarders and non-vessel owning common carriers.

Celco, Canada
Walter Rosizky, vice president and national sales manager, announced his retirement, effective Oct. 1, after 28 years of service with the company.

Magline, Inc., Standish, Mich.
Karen Perry joined as customer service manager, charged with overseeing the customer service team, and providing training and coaching programs. Perry will also be responsible for developing and growing the Magliner Authorized Dealer sales channel. Perry maintains human resources, operations and marketing expertise.

Stellar, Jacksonville, Fla.
Scott Mark was named senior vice president of food manufacturing and logistics, responsible for the entire food manufacturing and logistics group, including the distribution and thermal divisions. Mark first joined Stellar as an intern in 1997. He advanced through the operational ranks in the food and beverage group, becoming vice president of food operations in 2011. Mark was then named division vice president of the food and beverage group in 2012, assuming responsibility for the division’s operations and engineering. Todd Allsup was named division vice president of corporate sales, charged with developing leads and relationships at the corporate level for all three of the Stellar companies. Allsup joined Stellar in 2002 as director of sales (food processing), and was promoted to vice president of sales for the food and beverage group in 2006. Wyatt Payne was named division vice president of the newly formed field services, quality and safety group. Payne began his Stellar career in 1997 as a project manager in construction. He has held many positions in project management and business development across multiple divisions, including food and beverage, distribution and commercial.

The Shippers Group (TSG), Hutchins, Texas
Amy Landers was promoted to vice president of information technology. Landers joined the company through a rotational management training program, where she gained exposure to all aspects of the company. She maintains a background in operations and IT, focusing on continuous improvement and innovation. She’s also been involved with TSG's new building startups and many new customer on-boarding projects. In addition, Landers plays a pivotal role in network design and systems improvements, and has been instrumental in the strategic planning of future technologies.