ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:

Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), Portland, Ore.
The board of directors elected Greg Delwiche, deputy administrator of Bonneville Power Administration, to serve as board chair. Other new members include Kevin Christie, vice president of customer solutions for Avista Utilities; Andrew Grassell, manager, energy development and conservation for Chelan Public Utility District; Tom Karier, Washington governor's representative and council member for Northwest Power and Conservation Council; Garrett Martin, Montana governor's representative of energy planning and renewables for Montana Department of Environmental Quality; and Mike McClenahan, director, power management forGrant County Public Utility District. Outgoing board members include Bruce Folsom, Avista Utilities; and Roger Gray, Eugene Water & Electric Board.

International Foodservice Distributors Association (IFDA), McLean, Va.
A number of industry leaders were elected to the board of directors, with terms ranging from 1-3 years beginning in January. New members include Joe Ayoub, president and CEO of Ettline Foods Corp.; James Crawford, chairman of Behrhorst and Crawford Ltd.; Andrew Mercier, president and CEO of Merchants Foodservice; Peter Mouskondis, president and CEO of Nicholas & Co., Inc.; J. Michael Roach, president of Ben E. Keith Foods; Craig Saladino, president and CEO of Saladino’s Foodservice Distribution; Malcolm Sullivan, Jr., chief executive officer of Pate Dawson Co.; Roger Toomey, president and CEO of UniPro Foodservice, Inc.; Craig Hoskins, president and CEO of Performance Food Group – customized; Bob McGonigle, chief executive officer of Reinhart Foodservice, Inc.; and Rich Wolowski, president and COO – North America for Gordon Food Service.
 
American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI), McLean, Va.
At this year’s AFFI Frozen Food Convention (AFFI-CON) in Anaheim, Calif., the board of directors elected the following new officers: Paul Bakus, president of corporate affairs for Nestlé USA as chair; Larry Cope president and CEO of Clear Springs Foods as vice chair; and Dave Yanda, president and CEO of Lakeside Foods, Inc. as immediate past chair. Elected to 3-year terms are Rick Anderson of Little Lady Foods, Inc.; Larry Cope of Clear Springs Foods; Wesley Eubanks of The Pictsweet Co.; Greg Evans of McCain Foods Ltd.; Ed Flanagan of Jasper Wyman & Son, Inc.; Steve Lezman of Tropicana Products Inc.; Sara Lilygren of Tyson Foods; and Mike McEvoy of Sargento Foods Inc.

Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, Long Beach, Calif.
Port industry veterans Michael Christensen and Glenn Farren were appointed to newly created management positions to enhance cargo flow and service at the Port of Long Beach. Christensen was named senior executive for supply chain optimization, responsible for working collaboratively with industry stakeholders to find new ways to increase communication and cooperation among the supply chain links. Previously, he was deputy executive director at the Port of Los Angeles, vice president for the Parsons Transportation Group and vice president and managing principal for Nolte and Associates. Farren, who was general manager for Hapag-Lloyd America, will be the director of tenant services and operations, a new position created to emphasize the importance of relations with port tenants. Farren has more than 20 years of experience in managing marine terminals. Previously, he worked for Maersk, Sea-Land and APL.


 

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:

Johnsonville Sausage, Sheboygan Falls, Wis.
Nick Meriggioli was named chief executive officer, succeeded Ralph Stayer, whoannounced plans to retire, effective April 1. Stayer has led the company since 1968, and will continue providing company leadership as chairman of the board. Meriggioli spent more than 20 years working at Kraft Foods, and for the last 10 years, has led the Oscar Mayer business.

Hormel Foods, Austin, Minn.
Mark Morey was named president of the company’s Farmer John subsidiary, replacing Greg Longstreet, who transitioned to lead CytoSport Holdings in July 2014 after Hormel acquired the maker of Muscle Milk products. Morey is currently president of Dan’s Prize, which is also a Hormel subsidiary. Morey began his career as a meat products sales representative in 1993, and later became a territory manager. In 1994, he became a deli product manager, and in 1995, became a regional foodservice sales manager for Dubuque Foods. He returned to the corporate office in 1998 as the product manager of fresh pork. Two years later, he became the director of marketing for Precept Foods, and in 2006 became a group product manager in meat products. In 2008, he became the director of fresh meats marketing and general manager of Precept Foods. Morey assumed his current role in 2009.

Patrick Cudahy, LLC, Cudahy, Wis.
Jason Kapella was appointed vice president of sales and marketing for the foodservice, industrial and co-pack sales channels, effective the beginning of March. Kapella began his career at the company in 1993 as a supervisor in the microwave bacon department, and later transitioned to microwave bacon department superintendent, pre-cooked meats category manager, industrial sales manager and eventually his current position of senior director of industrial and co-pack sales. He also began overseeing the company's refinery department sales in 2014. Kapella’s brother, Daniel Kapella, was promoted to president of Patrick Cudahy, as part of parent company Smithfield Foods’ company realignment of key senior management positions. 

Flowers Foods, Inc., Thomasville, Ga.
Gene Lord, executive vice president, announced plans for retirement, effective April 24, after almost 50 years of service. Lord joined Flowers in 1966 as a route sales person for the company's bakery. During his tenure, he served in many positions, including bakery president and regional vice president. He was promoted to president and COO of Flowers' Bakeries Group in 2002, and to executive vice president and COO of Flowers Foods in 2008. He was named executive vice president in July 2014.

Schweid & Sons, Carlstadt, N.J.
Bill Schmitt was hired as director of foodservice, responsible for leading foodservice growth strategies and working with the sales team to develop the brand with restaurant operators and food distributors. Previously, he was regional manager and vice president of foodservice sales for Barber Foods, which was then acquired by AdvancePierre Foods. As a result, Schmitt became a part of AdvancePierre Foods’ corporate accounts team.

OSI Group, LLC, Aurora, Ill.
Former U.S. Senator Michael Johanns was elected to the board of directors, effective Feb. 18. A previous U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and governor of Nebraska, Johanns recently completed his first term in the U.S. Senate. Johanns served as governor of Nebraska from 1999-2005 and as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from 2005-2007. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2008, and announced in 2013, that he would not seek a second term after more than three decades in public life.

The Kroger Co., Cincinnati
Timothy Massa was promoted to senior vice president of human resources, succeeding Kathleen Barclay, who announced plans to retire in the fall of 2015. Barclay joined Kroger in 2010. During her time at Kroger, she strengthened the human resources function to more strongly support and connect the company's family of associates with Kroger's growing and changing business. Before joining Kroger, she served as the vice president of global human resources for the General Motors Corp., where she led the automaker's global human resources organization with a strong focus on building the company's strategic HR capability worldwide while focusing on building a strong footprint in emerging and growth markets. Massa joined Kroger in 2010 as vice president of corporate human resources, talent development. In April 2014, he was promoted to his current role, which included expanded responsibility for labor relations. Prior to joining the company, he served in various human resources leadership roles for 21 years at Procter & Gamble. He maintains an extensive global HR generalist background in leadership development, succession planning, performance management, strategy development, employee relations and engagement.

FOODSERVICE:
Darden Restaurants, Inc., Orlando, Fla.
Current interim chief executive officer Eugene Lee, Jr. was appointed CEO and director, effective immediately. Lee brings more than 30 years of restaurant operating experience that ranges from early stage high-growth concepts to large high-volume chains. Prior to his appointment as interim CEO, Lee served as president and COO of the company for one year, and prior to that, as president of the company's specialty restaurant group for six years, where he grew the company from 60 to 175 restaurants while delivering annualized sales growth of 17% and annual restaurant earnings growth of 26%. Lee joined Darden in 2007 as part of its acquisition of RARE Hospitality International, where he served as president and COO. Lee has also worked for Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse , Uno Restaurant Corp. and York Steak House Systems.  

Long John Silver's, Louisville, Ky.
James O'Reilly was named chief executive officer, bringing to the role more than 20 years of foodservice leadership, including, most recently, as chief brand officer for Sonic Drive-In. Additionally, O'Reilly has served in a variety of domestic and international leadership positions for Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Yum! Brands and Procter and Gamble.

The Wendy's Co., Dublin, Ohio
Michelle "Mich" Mathews-Spradlin was elected to serve as a director of the company, effective immediately. Prior to her retirement in 2011, Mathews-Spradlin worked for 18 years at Microsoft Corp., where she served as, among other roles, chief marketing officer and senior vice president, where she oversaw the company's global marketing function and built demand for the technology brands, including Windows, Office, Xbox, Bing and Internet Explorer. Mathews also sits on the digital advisory board of Unilever N.V. and the boards of Oanda Corp., True [X] Media and Bitium, Inc.

SUPPLIERS:

KM Packaging Services Ltd., UK
Mark Vernon joins as new business director, after having worked for over 20 years in the flexible packaging industry with bpi.plc and Coveris, as commercial director and business director, respectively. Vernon has worked closely with major packaging specialists, supplying printed, laminated and plain materials for fresh, frozen and prepared foods.

Norfolk Southern Corp., Norfolk, Va.
Donald Seale, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, announced plans to retire at the end of February after a 39-year career with the company.