ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:

Food Marketing Institute, Arlington, Va.
Jerry Garland, president and CEO of Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc., was named vice chairman of wholesaler and independent operators, replacing Al Plamann, who announced his retirement. The 2013 -2014 officers include vice chairmen Rob Bartels, president and CEO, Martin’s Supermarkets, Inc.—public affairs; Henry Johnson, president, W. Lee Flowers & Co., Inc.—finance; Tres Lund, chairman and CEO, Lund Food Holdings, Inc.—member services; Scott Schnuck, chairman and CEO, Schnuck Markets, Inc. —industry relations; and Steven Smith, president and CEO, K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc.—past chair.

Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Madison, Wis.
Marty Pullin was promoted to vice president channel management-retail, responsible for developing and executing programming in the retail channel. Allen Hendricks was promoted to vice president channel management-foodservice and education, responsible for working with key accounts in foodservice, supervising regional marketing managers who focus on foodservice and helping develop WMMB’s foodservice and education strategies.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS:

Safeway Inc., Pleasanton, Calif.
Robert Edwards, currently the company's president, will succeed Steven Burd as chief executive officer when he retires as chairman and CEO on May 14. Edwards will also join the company's board of directors. Meanwhile, T. Gary Rogers, currently the company's lead independent director, will become non-executive chairman upon Burd's retirement.

Chuy's Holdings, Inc., Austin, Texas
Douglas Schmick was appointed as an independent member of its board of directors, effective April 25. Schmick was also appointed to the Compensation Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board of Directors. Schmick maintains 40 years of experience in the upscale casual dining segment as a co-founder of McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants in 1972. He currently serves on Cheesecake Factory's board of directors as a member of the Audit Committee.

Grecian Delight Foods, Inc., Elk Grove Village, Ill.
Michael Lerch was hired as chief financial officer. Prior to joining the company, Lerch was CFO for Wilbert Inc., where he oversaw five acquisitions or divestitures in the last seven years. Peter Cokinos was named general manager and executive vice president. Cokinos comes from Little Lady Foods, with an accomplished background of more than 20 years of increasing responsibility in food, working with such companies such as Kraft, Kellogg’s, Heinz, Nestlé, Schwan’s, Wal-Mart, Costco, Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts. Lastly, William Nagle joins the newly created role of retail business development director. Nagle came from Select Food Products, where he was vice president of sales and marketing, and worked closely with the culinary arts team to develop new retail products.

Greencore Group plc, Newburyport, Mass.
Di Walker will step down as chief operating officer and director, effective May 24. Over the last 18 months, the company has seen significant change with the successful integration of Uniq and International Cuisine in the UK, the transformation of its business in the United States and the establishment of a broader executive management team. Walker’s responsibilities will be reallocated across the wider leadership team and the role of chief operating officer will not be replaced. Walker will remain with the company until the end of its financial year (September 2013) in order to ensure a seamless transition to this new management structure.

ConAgra Foods, Inc., Omaha, Neb.
Tom McGough was named president of the consumer foods group, following the resignation of André Hawaux, who has been president of consumer foods since 2009. Hawaux announced he will be leaving ConAgra Foods to join another public company in a different industry as chief financial officer. McGough began his packaged foods career at H.J. Heinz in 1990. He joined ConAgra Foods in 2007, and was named president, grocery products in 2012.

FOODSERVICE:

Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc., Atlanta
Paul Brown will join the company as chief executive officer, responsible for working with franchisees and management to enhance the company's culture, systems and processes to further innovate product offerings, improve the customer experience and achieve strong financial results. Brown has extensive experience and a proven track record in leading global brands, franchising, hospitality and corporate performance improvement, including roles at Hilton Worldwide, Inc., Expedia, Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group and McKinsey & Company.

SUPPLIERS:

Bosch Packaging Technology SA, Romanel, Switzerland
Dr. Marc-Olivier Demaurex, president, is to retire at the end of April. Demaurex has led Bosch’s work in the automation sector for many years, helping to make the company’s Delta robots one of the leading automation solutions for the packaging industry. Meanwhile, Frank Souyris was appointed general manager for the robotics unit. Souyris previously collaborated with Demaurex during his tenure as sales manager with Demaurex SA.

Lyco Manufacturing, Inc., Madison, Wis.
Kevin Hansen was appointed product line sales manager for liquid/solid separation, responsible for leading product development and sales for the company’s rotary drum screens, water reuse and micro filter product lines, targeting the poultry and meat markets and applications.