ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS/UNIVERSITIES:
The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, Long Beach, Calif.
Heather Tomley was elected managing director of planning and environmental affairs for the Harbor Department, charged with leading the port’s environmental planning, transportation planning and master planning divisions. Tomley has been with the department since 2005, most recently serving as acting managing director for the past 12 months. Before that, she served as an environmental planning associate, was promoted to environmental specialist and then senior environmental specialist in 2006. In 20018, she became assistant director of environmental planning before being named director in 2014. Before coming to Long Beach, she served as a project scientist with SCS Engineers (2004-2005) following five years (1999-2004) as an air quality specialist for the San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District.

National Chicken Council (NCC), Washington, D.C.
Clint Rivers, president and CEO of Wayne Farms LLC, was installed as 2019-2020 chairman, succeeding outgoing chairman Mark Kaminsky, chief operating officer at Koch Foods. Rivers joined Wayne Farms in October 2012 as vice president and general manager of the fresh business unit. In 2014, he was promoted to chief operating officer, and in 2017, was promoted to president and CEO. Prior to joining Wayne Farms, Rivers spent 6 years as president of foodservice and supply chain with Perdue Farms. He spent 21 years with Pilgrim’s Pride, where he held a number positions of increasing responsibility, including chief operating officer and president and CEO. Rivers first began his career in the industry as a microbiologist and quality assurance foreman for Golden West Foods. Trent Goins, president and CEO of O.K. Foods, takes over as vice chairman. Over the past 15-plus years, Goins has held various positions within the company, including vice president of sales and marketing and regional sales manager. He is also president of the Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce, serves on the board of The Poultry Federation and the 64/6 Committee and is the co-founder of the Outlier Music Festival and the Peacemaker Music and Arts Festival. Preceding his tenure at O.K. Foods, Goins worked as a legislative assistant on agriculture and trade policy for Congressman Robert Marion Berry of Arkansas’ first Congressional district.  Jayson Penn, president and CEO of Pilgrim’s, will assume the role as secretary-treasurer. Penn joined Pilgrim’s in 2011, and served as senior vice president of the commercial business group, executive vice president of sales and operations and president of Pilgrim’s USA prior to his current role. He maintains more than 30 years of experience. Penn started his career in his family’s poultry operation, and has held management positions at several leading poultry companies. He also served on the board of directors and the executive committee of the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council, and currently serves on the board of directors and executive committee of the National Chicken Council and the board of directors of The World Poultry Foundation. Mike Brown, senior vice president for legislative affairs of the American Meat Institute, was elected to a seventh term as president.

The Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association, Camp Hill, Pa.
Andrea Karns, vice president of marketing and sales at Karns Quality Foods, and Joe Munno, regional manager, industry engagement at Altria Group, joined as new members of the board of directors. Munno takes the seat previously held by Jim Pulsifer, director, regulatory and legislative industry engagement at Altria Group Distribution Co. Karns spearheads various initiatives throughout the company's eight locations in Central Pennsylvania, including overseeing the rewards card program, executing promotional events and managing production of the weekly and monthly ads. She also interacts directly with customers through a variety of platforms. Karns is also a member of the Elizabethtown College Leadership Council and a board member of the Center of Dairy Excellence. Munno has worked at Altria for more than seven years, holding a variety of positions, including account manager, unit manager and territory sales manager.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS/MARKET RESEARCH:
Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt, Boulder, Colo.
Andy Judd was named chief marketing officer. Judd maintains over 15 years of extensive experience at both leading dairy and non-dairy companies. Most recently, Judd served as chief marketing officer at ONE Brands, and prior to that, was vice president of marketing for Pinnacle Foods’ Boulder Brands business unit, where he led all marketing functions for the plant-based and gluten free brands. He also worked with Craig Shiesley, the company’s newly appointed chief executive officer, for three years at WhiteWave Foods, and throughout his career, has built go-to-market models at both large, leading CPG companies and also at emerging high-growth brands. Paul Kenny was appointed chief customer officer. Kenny maintains nearly 30 years of experience in both domestic and international sales and general management roles at Procter & Gamble, RB, Nabisco Foods, Playtex Products, Combe Inc. and KIND Snacks, where he served as executive vice president of sales. Within those roles, Kenny was instrumental in facilitating corporate transactions, including Playtex Products to Energizer Personal Care in 2007, and KIND Snacks to Mars in 2016. Robert Machado will serve as chief supply chain officer. Machado maintains 30-plus years’ experiencing leading companies to improved profitability by instilling supply chain solutions in network optimization, logistics, distribution, manufacturing and inventory management. He has held senior leadership positions at Kraft, Häagen-Dazs, H.J. Heinz, The Coca-Cola Co. and MillerCoors, where he created best-in-class processes in sales and operations planning, freight optimization and cost of goods sold cost controls. Prior to joining Yasso, Machado was chief operating officer of First Source LLC, where he managed the integrated supply chain for a large candy and nut distributor. Peter Riccio joined as chief financial officer. Riccio maintains over 20 years of experience managing both large CPG companies and emerging brands. He started his career at Quaker Oats, followed by Diageo and Wrigley Co., before moving to WhiteWave Foods, where he held several senior leadership roles, including vice president of dairy operations. After WhiteWave acquired Earthbound Farm, he served as chief financial officer of the subsidiary. Riccio most recently served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer of WTRMLN WTR.

Calavo Growers, Inc., Santa Paula, Calif.
Lecil Cole announced his intent to retire as president and CEO, effective the first quarter of calendar year 2020.

Perdue Premium Meat Co., LLC (PPMC), Westminster, Colo.
Luke LaPerriere was appointed vice president of retail innovations, supporting the Niman Ranch, Coleman Natural and Panorama Grassfed Beef brands with outreach, merchandising, consumer acquisition and case-ready programs. LaPerriere is a former executive of Harris Teeter/Kroger, Stop and Shop/Ahold and Shaw’s Supermarket, serving as vice president of meat and seafood merchandising since 2000. He maintains over 40 years of experience in retail, grocery, operations and procurement, and started his retail supermarket career with Shaw’s Supermarket in 1978, holding over 16 positions in operation and buying.

Del Real Foods, Mira Loma, Calif.
Michael Axelrod was named new chief executive officer. Axelrod most recently served as chief executive officer of Passport Global Foods and Fine Choice Foods, and served as president of TreeHouse Foods’ condiments division. He has also held executive positions at Whirlpool Corp., Pactiv Corp., McCain Foods and Kraft Foods. Early in his career, Axelrod was a project leader at the Boston Consulting Group.

Rosina Food Products, Cheektowaga, N.Y.
Chris Tirone was promoted to vice president of marketing and customer engagement.

Full Harvest, San Francisco
Ann Veneman joined the board of directors. Veneman, a lawyer by training, served as executive director of UNICEF from 2005-2010 and as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from 2001-2005. She also served as Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture from 1995-1999. Veneman is also on the board of Nestle S.A., the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT) and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), and is a member of the Hilton Foundation Humanitarian Prize Jury and the Council on Foreign Relations. She is a frequent speaker on the food system, agriculture, nutrition, empowerment of girls and women, global health and reducing poverty around the world. 

The Kroger Co., Cincinnati
Jerry Clontz, president of the Mid-Atlantic division, announced his retirement after more than 48 years of service. Paula Ginnett, currently a vice president, will assume the role, effective Nov. 1. Clontz joined Harris Teeter in 1971 as a bagger. Since then, he has held various retail positions, including store manager, store director and field specialist. He was named a district manager in 1991, and then promoted to regional director three years later. In 1997, he was named a regional vice president, where he contributed to Harris Teeter’s expansion to several markets. He was named senior vice president of operations in 2007, where under his leadership, Harris Teeter added 79 new stores. In 2017, Jerry was named to his current role. Ginnett joined Kroger after more than 25 years with Walmart Inc. For the past five years, she served as vice president, regional general manager for Walmart U.S., where she led 188 stores and 45,000 employees. Previously, she served as vice president, store planning, where she led Walmart U.S. and Sam’s Club real estate execution for new store openings, remodels and special projects. She has also held various leadership positions in merchandising and operations.

FireFly Farms, Accident, Md.
Cristi Menard was appointed national director of sales and marketing. In 2008, Menard joined Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread & Wine, working her way up from cheese mongering behind the counter to store operations management to procurement management. In 2013, she joined Spring Brook Farm as national sales manager. She’s also spent time in Neal’s Yard Dairy, toured the caves of Fort St. Antoine in France and visited countless small dairy and cheesemaking operations in the United States. Plus, she’s participated as a speaker at the American Cheese Society (ACS) Conference.

SUPPLIERS:
ePac Flexible Packaging, Austin, Texas
James Braun was named chief financial officer, responsible for the accounting, treasury and human resource functions. Braun maintains over 30 years of experience in senior accounting, financial management, investor relations, SEC compliance and reporting, initial public offerings, start-ups and driving operational efficiencies in a manufacturing environment. He spent 27 years in CFO positions for several private equity-owned and public companies. Braun also spent 8 years in public accounting in the manufacturing and service industries, and spent 12 years as chief financial officer for two international printing companies. 

Key Technology, a member of the Duravant family of operating companies, Walla Walla, Wash.
Daniel Leighty was promoted to global vice president of sales, responsible for activities that lead Key’s worldwide sales organization. Leighty has been with Key since 2007, and maintains more than 25 years of experience in sales management. Prior to this promotion, he was global sales pperations and managing director of Key’s Netherlands facility. He will continue as managing director of Key Technology B.V. in the Netherlands. Previously, he was managing director of Key’s Belgian facility.

Twinlode Automation, South Bend, Ind.
Jeffery Minteer joined as senior project manager. Minteer maintains more than 26 years of experience. Most recently, Minteer worked as project manager at Southern Conveyor Systems, Inc., leading cross-functional teams and ensuring proper installation and commissioning of operational distribution centers. Throughout his tenure in the material handling industry, Minteer has achieved a high level of proficiency in project engineering and management, applied mechanics, as well as organizational design. 

Pelican BioThermal, Minneapols
Ray Crane was appointed vice president of operations. Previously, he served as director of operations, EMEA, and maintains many years of manufacturing operations, supply chain and engineering experience. Before joining the BioThermal division, Crane served as director of operations for Pelican Products, and prior to that, held various operational leadership positions in a range of industries, including high-volume disposable medical devices, plastic packaging for food industries and consumer electronics equipment.

Choptank Transport, Preston, Md.
Morgan Haller was promoted to senior business development manager, responsible for helping drive the growth of the Tampa, Fla., office while supporting the general manager with additional initiatives. Haller began her career at Choptank in 2014 after spending several years as a horse trainer. She was introduced to the industry as a carrier sales representative, and quickly rose to the position of carrier development representative, where she acted as a mediator and advocate for Choptank’s contracted owner-operators. Haller later became involved in employee training, and then as operations training manager, where she taught new logistics staff about the intricacies of the business. Last year, Haller was promoted to regional office training manager to assist with the education of employees who work in four of the company’s five regional offices.

Honeywell, Charlotte, N.C.
Joseph Lui will lead the company’s new robotics innovation hub. Lui maintains expertise in digital data, autonomous technologies and the industrial Internet of Things. He previously served as director of industrial IoT and automation technologies, robotics for Amazon.

Chadwicks of Bury, UK
John Harrison was appointed technical sales manager for Australia and New Zealand, responsible for managing Chadwicks’ current business, as well as growing its customer base in Australia and New Zealand. Harrison maintains 30 years of experience in the flexible packaging industry, including roles at Courtaulds, Huhtamaki and Amcor.  

IN MEMORIUM: JACK HOLLAND CAIN, SR., CATALYTIC GENERATORS

Jack Holland Cain, Sr., former vice president of Catalytic Generators, Norfolk, Va., passed away Oct. 17.

Cain spent many years working in agriculture, developing ethylene application systems for the fresh produce industry. Cain retired as vice president in 2015 after 38 years with the company. He also served 7 years in the U.S. Air Force.

“Jack was more than just a work associate or vendor; he truly was a dear friend,” says Greg Akins, president and CEO. “With his positive attitude, friendly demeanor and sense of humor, Jack made many friends in the produce industry. He will be missed.”

Survivors include his wife, Jeanette, of 65 years, and his children, Jack, Sherry and Debbie, plus many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Condolences to the family may be conveyed online at https://www.mclanecares.com/obituaries/Jack-Holland-Cain-Sr?obId=8238275#/obituaryInfo.