ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:
National Pork Board, Des Moines, Iowa
Terry O’Neel, owner and manager of O’Neel Farms, was elected president. O’Neel was elected to his second board term in 2016, most recently serving as vice president of the board. From 2015-2016, he was board treasurer, and also served on the Domestic Marketing, Producer Services and Pork Quality, Safety and Human Nutrition committees. He has hosted farm tours for the Alliance for the Future of Agriculture in Nebraska, The International Water for Food Project and various service, student and youth groups. He served as president of the Nebraska Pork Producers Board in 2007. Steve Rommereim, owner and operator of Highland Swine, was elected vice president. In March, Rommereim was elected to serve a second term as a producer-member of the National Pork Board. As 2016-2017 treasurer, he chaired the Finance committee and served on the Domestic Marketing committee. He is an Operation Main Street speaker, and has served as a South Dakota delegate to the Pork Industry Forum since 2003. Rommereim was on the National Pork Board’s plan of work task force in 2009. He is past president of the South Dakota Pork Producers Association, serving on its board from 2001-2011. He also is past president of Agriculture United for South Dakota. Brett Kaysen, partner in Flatland Showpigs and the Western regional sales director for the U.S. pork business at Zoetis, was elected treasurer. Prior to joining Zoetis, Kaysen was in the Animal Sciences department at Colorado State University. This past March, he was elected to serve his second 3-year term on the National Pork Board, and currently serves on the Animal Science committee and as board representative to the Swine Health Information Center. He is an Operation Main Street speaker, and serves on the National Junior Swine Association board of directors. At the state level, Kaysen serves on the Colorado Pork Producers Council. Jan Archer, owner of Archer Farms, LLC, will serve as immediate past president.

Manufacturers’ Agents National Association (MANA), Morton Grove, Ill.
Charlie Ingram, vice president of sales and marketing for Eriez, was named to the board of directors. Ingram is the first manufacturer to serve on the MANA board since its founding in 1947. Ingram joined Eriez in 1994 after serving as manager of international marketing at Chicago Pneumatic Tool and general manager of Chicago Pneumatic Tool’s Canadian affiliate. Ingram has been Eriez’ lead company representative for MANA since 1994. In his time with MANA, Ingram has served as a presenter and panelist for MANA at events such as Keystone, MANAFest, Teleforums and Manufacturer Seminar.

International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C.
Rylee Sterrett, a recent graduate of Michigan State University, joins as an intern in the regulatory affairs department. For the next three months, Sterrett will assist IDFA’s regulatory team on special projects, research and events, including IDFA’s Regulatory RoundUP. Sterrett previously worked as a quality intern for Schreiber Foods Inc., where she gained experience in food safety best practices. She is also certified in the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) approach to identifying, evaluating and controlling food safety hazards.

Vidalia Onion Committee, Vidalia, Ga.
Bob Stafford, long-time manager of the Vidalia Onion Business Council, was appointed interim executive director, taking over for executive director Susan Waters, who retired, effective June 2. Waters has led the organization since 2013. Waters began working at the committee in 2009 as an executive assistant. Before joining the organization, she was a secretary for 16 years at the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles. She also worked as a secretary for Farm Credit Services/Ag Services. 

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:
Category Partners, Idaho Falls, Idaho
Produce industry veteran Angie Hanson was named director of category development, tasked with aligning with partners Farm Fresh Direct and Wada Farms to help drive retail sales and marketing opportunities. Previously, Hanson oversaw business development, marketing and communications programs for organicgirl, Oppy, California Avocado Commission and Christopher Ranch.

Market Fresh Produce, Nixa, Mo.
Ray Rollison was named director of procurement, responsible for the supply of products essential for the company’s operations, strategizing to find the most cost-effective deals and suppliers and discovering the best ways to minimize procurement expenses, as well as managing assigned staff. Rollison is an accomplished executive with more than 25 years of leadership in merchandising, organizational development, sourcing and sales planning. Rollison has held various positions in the grocery industry at Harvest Foods Inc., Supervalu, Shop ‘n Save, C&S Wholesale Grocers, Country Fresh, and most recently, Harvested Here Food Hub.

Allen Harim, LLC, Seaford, Del.
Industry veteran Michael Rush was appointed new director of human resources. Rush maintains more than 20 years of experience in various roles in human resources and training, including almost a year with Allen Harim. During his career, he spent almost eight years with Perdue Farms as a regional talent manager, and almost a dozen years in human resources for McDonalds. He most recently served as director of training for Amick Farms. Meanwhile, Sylvia Nicholson was named senior director of risk management and legal, focusing on legal issues and providing oversight of the risk control and insurance department. Nicholson has been with the company since 2014, overseeing the department of human resources. Nicholson previously served as senior manager of human resources for Aramark at The University of Delaware, and also led human resources teams at Safran Labinal, Masco Contractor Services, Home Depot and Maximus. And, Yong-Jae “Jay” Park was promoted to controller of finance and operations. He came to Allen Harim in 2012 from the parent company, The Harim Group, where he worked as a finance controller. Prior to that, he worked as a supervisor of finance and accounting for Korean Trading Co., and as a junior auditor for McGladrey Alliance Network.

Nomad Foods Ltd., England
Chief financial officer Paul Kenyon resigned to accept another opportunity outside of the food industry. Kenyon has been chief financial officer for the past five years, joining in 2012 as CFO of Iglo Group and then CFO of Nomad Foods since 2015. He will continue to serve in his current role until August.

Kellogg Co., Battle Creek, Mich.
Carter Cast was elected to the board of directors, effective June 15. Cast brings vast experience in the digital arena, previously helping to build and then lead Walmart.com as chief executive officer. Cast also was the chief executive officer of Hayneedle, Inc., led the launch of the Blue Nile brand and previously served as the chief marketing officer at eBay. Cast has also served as vice president of product marketing and marketing communications at Electronic Arts. Cast maintains significant leadership experience at other Fortune 500 companies, including PepsiCo, where he was a marketing executive, and Frito-Lay, where he managed its $1.5 billion tortilla chip category. Cast is currently a clinical professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, where he teaches entrepreneurship, innovation and marketing.

Crunch Pak, Cashmere, Wash.
Gene Woodin, Gary Zych, Jennifer Dietrich and Jay Zimmerman joined as senior sales executives, effective May 22, replacing regional contract employees. In addition, Megan Wade joins as media and brand manager. Wade’s previous experience includes CMI Orchards and Columbia Fruit Packers.  

Pete’s Living Greens, Carpinteria, Calif.
Corrie Hutchens was  named new senior director of marketing, responsible for a 2-pronged go-to-market strategy, in which she will create consumer and trade-centric marketing plans that focus on building brand recognition and consumer engagement. Hutchens brings a wealth of CPG experience and a track record of developing brand strategies that accelerate growth. Her background includes product marketing, brand management and consumer communication at Nestlé, Ergobaby and Little Tikes.

FOODSERVICE:
Togo’s Eateries, LLC, San Jose, Calif.
Glenn Lunde was named president, following the retirement of Togo’s chairman and CEO, Tony Gioia. Lunde joined Togo’s as chief concept officer in January, leading the brand’s transformation strategies, including the chain’s operating system and menu strategy. Also, Nader Garschi joined as chief operating officer, responsible for overseeing company and franchise locations, as well as restaurant services and training, operations innovation and new restaurant openings. Garschi maintains more than 30 years of restaurant management experience for brands such as Lyon’s Restaurants, Taco Bell and Panda Restaurant Group. Lastly, Anna Nero was appointed senior vice president of marketing, responsible for brand creative, marketing promotions, culinary innovation and media communications. Nero previously served as executive director of marketing at Panda Restaurant Group.

Cracker Barrel, Lebanon, Tenn.
Cammie Spillyards-Schaefer was named vice president of culinary and menu strategy, effective May 31. Previously, Spillyards-Schaefer was executive chef and vice president of culinary and menu strategy for Applebee’s, and prior to that, was the president of research and development and innovation for Bloomin’ Brands Inc. She’s owned two restaurants, and was director of product development for Chili’s Grill & Bar.

Presenture LLC, Houston, Texas
Foodservice industry veteran Bernadette Bujanowski joined as vice president of national accounts, responsible for managing strategic national foodservice accounts. Previously, Bujanowski served as senior director of business development for healthcare/senior living centers for Sysco Corp. Bujanowski began her foodservice career working in Fox Grocery Co.’s protein and produce department. Later, she spent more than 34 years with Sysco, where she gained experience across the full foodservice spectrum, from making cold calls on “mom and pop” diners to working with Fortune 500 companies. Bujanowski‘s previous positions at Sysco included senior director business development, travel and leisure; national account sales executive; and senior national account executive in multi-unit sales.

SUPPLIERS:
Sturtevant, Inc., Hanover, Mass.
Chris Meadows joined as vice president of sales and marketing, responsible for the overall activities of Sturtevant’s sales and marketing and their respective departments. Meadows will also play a key role in managing and supporting the company’s sales representative organization. He brings over 20 years of industry experience, including four years as sales manager with Triple /S Dynamics and 17 years as vice president of sales and marketing for Progressive Industries.

R2 Logistics, Inc., Charlotte, N.C.
Frank Dreischarf was named vice president of supply chain solutions, responsible for developing and managing R2’s multi-modal and supply chain service offerings. Dresischarf most recently served as director of distribution for The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co., and has also held transportation-related positions for companies such as Ashland Inc., Uniontools Inc., Exel and Overnite Transportation. He brings years of industry knowledge across multiple transportation modes, including TL, LTL, ocean, air, intermodal and multi-site distribution operations.

Wildeck, Inc., Waukesha, Wis.
Paul Mihelich was promoted to vice president, sales and marketing, for the Waukesha, Wis., and Goodyear, Ariz., operations. Mihelich began working at Wildeck as a regional sales manager in April 1988. Over the past 29 years, he has held positions of sales manager of special accounts, installation manager and director of sales.

Twinlode Corp., South Bend, Ind.
Mike Klaer was named president. Previously, Klaer served as the vice president and co-owner of Twinlode Corp., where he played an integral role in developing strategic partners. Prior to Twinlode, he was a sales engineer at Handling Technologies Inc. since 1997.

Weber Packaging Solutions, Arlington Heights, Ill.
Tom Michalsen was promoted to vice president of marketing, responsible for executing marketing and communication strategies, creating marketing plans that support sales growth, increasing Weber’s revenue and market share and executing programs and approaches that differentiate Weber from its competitors. Michalsen maintains over 36 years of service to Weber’s marketing division. His career at Weber began in 1981 as media products manager, responsible for the product development, pricing and marketing of the company’s label products. For the last nine years, he has served as director of marketing, overseeing the company’s product marketing, marketing communications and price administration groups.

ITS Logistics, Reno, Nev.
Mike Crawford was promoted to president of the freight brokerage division. Previously, he was general manager, and has been the head of the division since its inception in 2013. Crawford started businesses in real estate, mortgage banking and finally logistics, which led him to ITS in 2012. He started in sales for the dedicated and expedited transportation division, before taking over the freight brokerage service line in January 2013.

Grow Pod Solutions, Corona, Calif.
Mieko Perez, a leader in health, wellness and pesticide-free organic farming, joined the company's Advisory Board to help provide innovative and productive, Earth-friendly methods of farming. Perez is the co-founder of UF4A.org, (the Unconventional Foundation for Autism), and has received special recognition from Congress for her hours of community service and dedication to helping families, autism organizations, universities and healthcare professionals.

First Solar, Inc., Tempe, Ariz.
Molly Joseph was appointed to the board of directors. Joseph is chief executive officer of UnitedHealthcare Global and executive vice president, global, UnitedHealth Group. She assumed these roles in May of 2014 and March 2017, respectively, and leads overall strategic direction and operational management of business outside the United States. From 2009-2014, Joseph was senior vice president, global for UnitedHealth Group, leading the global markets division, as well as the strategic development of the global business. Prior to her global role with UnitedHealth Group, she led acquisitions and other strategic transactions across the enterprise. Previous to joining UnitedHealth Group, Joseph was an investment banker focused on mergers and acquisitions. She began her career as a corporate lawyer, focusing on business transactions.

FoodLogiQ, Durham, N.C.
Julie McGill was named to the newly created role of director of implementation and strategic account management. McGill has worked at GS1 US for over 16 years on various teams, including Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) implementation services and global account management. She also led the Foodservice GS1 US Standards Initiative for over 7 years, working with manufacturers, distributors, operators and supply chain partners to increase efficiencies and build a foundation for traceability and supply chain visibility through the use of GS1 standards.