ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:

National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI), Washington, D.C.
New members include Michael Rybolt, Hillshire Brands Co.; Carol Lorenzen, University of Missouri; Sherika Harvey, Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce; John Marcy, University of Arkansas Center of Excellence for Poultry Science; and Christopher Waldrop, Consumer Federation of America.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS:

Sunsweet Growers Inc., Yuba City, Calif.
Jeff McLemore was promoted to vice president of North America marketing, responsible for overseeing the company’s marketing efforts in North America, including prunes, juices and specialty fruits. McLemore has been directly involved with virtually every new Sunsweet product introduction for the domestic market, including the development and launch of Sunsweet Ones, D’Noir Prunes, Plum Amazins and Sunsweet Mango. Prior to Sunsweet, he was the director of category management for Dole Foods.

The Hillshire Brands Co., Chicago, Ill.
Brian Davison joined as senior vice president, corporate strategy and development, responsible for strategic planning, as well as acquisition, merger and divestiture activities. Davison previously served as vice president of strategic planning at Kraft Foods Inc.

Safeway Inc., Pleasanton, Calif.
Chairman and CEO Steve Burd will retire May 14 to pursue his interest in healthcare. Burd has served as CEO since 1993.

Perdue Farms, Salisbury, Md.
Mark Garth was promoted to senior vice president and CFO, effective Jan. 1. Garth joined Perdue in May 2011 as senior vice president of finance. Previously, he was senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer at Wells Dairy Inc., and senior vice president, planning and analysis, electronic assembly for Plexus Corp. Garth also has worked at ConAgra and Maytag.

SUPPLIERS:

Bunting Magnetics Co., Newton, Kan.
Robert Bunting, Jr. was named business strategist—metal detection, responsible for further developing the metal detection portion of the company product line, with particular emphasis on the food processing and bulk commodities markets. Bunting, Jr. is a third-generation employee of Bunting Magnetics. Meanwhile, Jason Cohen, Darrick Litten and Dan Murphy were appointed field service representatives, representing Texas and Oklahoma; Ohio, West Virginia and Western New York; and Illinois and Wisconsin, respectively. Pat Perkins and John Weber were named manufacturer’s representatives for Southern California; and Arizona and New Mexico, respectively.

The World Group
This strategic partnership of North American refrigerated and frozen logistics and warehousing companies elected new officers for terms beginning Jan. 1. Tony Lucarelli (Henningsen Cold Storage) was named president, while Luis Jorba (Frialsa Frigorificos) was elected vice president. Stan Bigford (Trenton Cold Storage) was named secretary, and Patrick Gorbett (Great Lakes Cold Storage) was elected treasurer.

Alterrus Systems Inc., Vancouver, British Columbia
David Andru was appointed chief financial officer, responsible for strategic planning, project management, financial modeling and reporting, management reporting, controller roles and team development and management.

Toray Plastics (America) Inc., North Kingstown, R.I.
Kerri Boyens was named product manager for the Torayfan Polypropylene Film division, responsible for the growth of OPP film products among key customers in the packaging sector. Boyens joined Toray in 2006 as an account representative, where she grew packaging sales at leading converting companies, introducing them to value-added OPP and PET film technology. In addition, Boyens was instrumental in securing significant business for Toray's metallized polyester film (MPET) with leading packaging and industrial customers.

Quadrant Engineering Plastic Products, Reading, Pa.
Dana Scott was appointed national sales manager of specialty components. Scott has been with Quadrant for six years, three as business development engineer, the other three as a territorial manager.