Cold Foods Industry News

IAFP Appoints New President

ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:

Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB), Madison, Wis.
Marty Pullin was promoted to senior vice president channel management, responsible for leading WMMB’s channel management team, overseeing retail and foodservice program development and execution, technical services, market research and dairy company communications. Pullin is no stranger to the dairy industry. Before joining WMMB, he was national territory manager for Wisconsin Cheese Group, national account executive for Mexican Cheese Producers, Inc. and assistant store manager for SUPERVALU.

Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, Long Beach, Calif.
John Chun was appointed director of engineering design, heading up roads, utilities and other infrastructure projects for the Port of Long Beach. Chun, who started with the port in 1996 as a civil engineering assistant, has served as a deputy chief harbor engineer since 2008, and has been involved in a number of port projects, including the Middle Harbor Redevelopment, Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement, Stormwater Master Plan, Pavement Management System, Traffic Sign Inventory Program and more.

International Association for Food Protection, Des Moines, Iowa
Dr. Donald Zinkwas appointed president. Zink is the senior science ddvisor for the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN). Prior to his current position, he served as a senior food scientist in the Office of Food Safety with CFSAN. Zink has been an IAFP member since 1996 and a member of the Capital Area IAFP Affiliate since 2010.He is a past member of the European Symposium Organizing Committee as well as several professional development groups and has served on several IAFP awards selection committees, including the Black Pearl Award Selection Committee.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS:

California Giant Berry Farms, Watsonville, Calif.
Nader Musleh was promoted to executive director, blueberry division, responsible for the profitability of the company-wide blueberry and non-strawberry division by working with senior management to develop the strategy and vision necessary to grow the business both domestically and internationally. Musleh plans to expand the geographical reach to build the year-round supply of berries. Musleh has been with the company for four years.

McDonald’s Corp., Oak Brook, Ill.
Jeff Stratton, USA president, announced plans to retire after 41 years with the company. Mike Andres will become president, effective Oct. 15, after previously acting as CEO and chairman of Logan's Roadhouse, Inc. Andres began his McDonald's career in the restaurant, as manager for his family-owned McDonald's in Northern California. He went on to build a 30-year track record in marketing and worked across operations and development before becoming regional vice president and senior vice president. From 2001-2007, Andres served as president and CEO of Boston Market, while it was a McDonald's subsidiary. From 2010-2012, he served as president of the Central division in the United States, where he drove strong results in comparable sales, guest counts and income.

FOODSERVICE:

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc., Greenwood Village, Colo.
Jeff Melnick was named senior vice president of operations, responsible for leading regional restaurant management teams overseeing the operational performance of the more than 380 restaurants in the United States. Melnick has more than 25 years of experience in the casual dining industry, and has served as a regional vice president of operations for Red Robin since 2006. The company also appointed five new regional vice presidents as part of its efforts to align the operations organization to better serve the current and future needs of the business—Amanda Busby, mid-Pacific division; Al Hansen, Midwest division; Amy Jones, Southwest division; Daniel Lett, gulf coast division; and Tim Mei, Northwest division.

SUPPLIERS:

Watco Transportation Services, Pittsburg, Kan.
Ryan Williamswas named vice president marketing - Gulf region, responsible for the overall performance of the Gulf and Southeast regional marketing teams as it relates to cultivating growth and leading the expansion of existing commercial and customer relationships. Williams will also work with the corporate commercial and operating teams to meet customer needs in an approach that supports the company’s Customer First Foundation Principles. Previously, Williams wasmarketing manager for the AWRR, SAC and TIBR railroads in the Gulf region, and served as assistant general manager for the South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad. He will be replacing Amy Parady, who after 11 years of services, will become vice president of business development and corporate liaison for Watco Supply Chain Services.

Spee-Dee Packaging Machinery, Sturtevant, Wis.
Tony Stefanelli was appointed vice president of business development, responsible for overseeing mechanical engineering, as well as helping the company evolve its product development process and tracking systems. For the past 16 years, he’s held various director and management-level positions at Buell Motorcycle Co., Gates Corp. and Erik Buell Racing.