PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:
Mariano’s, a Chicago-based grocery banner of Roundy’s Supermarkets, Inc.  
Ryan LaRoche joined as executive chef and vice president of culinary. LaRoche comes from the Park Hyatt, having served as executive chef and culinary leader. Previously, LaRoche amassed an extensive resume of noteworthy culinary experiences, serving as the chef de cuisine and executive chef for Park Hyatt Chicago and NoMi Kitchen, executive sous chef for L’Atelier De Joel Robuchon and sous chef for TRU Restaurant and Chef de Partie at The Four Seasons Chicago.

Hormel Foods Corp., Austin, Minn.
James Snee was elected president and COO, effective Oct. 26, succeeding Jeffrey Ettinger, who has served as president since 2004 and will continue to serve as the company’s chairman and CEO. In his new role, Snee will oversee all of the company’s business segments and global operations, including grocery products, refrigerated foods, specialty foods, international and the Jennie-O Turkey store. Snee joined Hormel Foods in 1989 in the foodservice division and served in various positions within the group before being named manager of inventory and distribution for the refrigerated foods segment in 1995. He was promoted to foodservice area manager and foodservice regional sales manager in 1996 and 1998, respectively. Snee was named director of purchasing in 2006 and vice president of affiliated business units in 2008. In 2011, he advanced to senior vice president of Hormel Foods International and assumed his current position in 2012.

FOODSERVICE:
Dunkin' Brands, the parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, Canton, Mass.
Bill Mitchell was named president, Dunkin' Brands International,  responsible for nearly 8,500 Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins restaurants in 61 countries outside the United States. Mitchell joined Dunkin' Brands in October 2010, most recently responsible for Baskin-Robbins in the United States, Canada and Japan, as well as for both brands in China and Korea. Prior to Dunkin' Brands, Mitchell worked for Papa John's, ultimately serving as the company's president, global operations. He has also held management positions at a variety of other foodservice companies, including AFC Enterprise, the RTM Restaurant Group and PepsiCo as part of the KFC management team. Scott Murphy was named senior vice president, Dunkin' Donuts operations U.S. and Canada, and will also continue to serve as chief supply officer, assuming operational responsibility for the more than 8,000 Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in the United States and Canada. He will tasked with helping the company achieve its goals of more than doubling its current domestic restaurant footprint, driving restaurant profitability and recognizing significant margin upside as the result of new technologies. He came to Dunkin' Brands in March 2004 and was named CSO in 2013. Additionally, for the past 10 years, he has served on the board of directors of the National DCP, the Dunkin' Donuts franchisee-owned procurement and distribution cooperative. Most recently, Murphy also had operational responsibility for Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins in Europe and Latin America. Murphy served in leadership roles with A.T. Kearney, where he worked to identify operational and supply chain opportunities for some of the firm's largest clients. Weldon Spangler was promoted to senior vice president, Baskin-Robbins U.S. and Canada, assuming operational and marketing responsibilities for the more than 2,500 Baskin-Robbins restaurants in the United States and Canada. Spangler, who was most recently vice president, Dunkin' Donuts Operations in the U.S. and Canada, will provide dedicated leadership for the domestic segment of the Baskin-Robbins business, which continues to demonstrate strong potential. Spangler spent more than 15 years in leadership positions with Starbucks, both domestically and internationally, including spending several years as operations officer in Japan over operations, marketing and store development. He began his career at PepsiCo as part of the Taco Bell management team and immediately prior to joining Dunkin' Brands, was a division vice president for Knowledge Universe, an education services firm.

SUPPLIERS:

The Greenbrier Cos., Lake Oswego, Ore.
Victoria McManus was named executive vice president and chief strategic officer, responsible for developing and implementing strategic initiatives to diversify and grow the company's business and to enhance value from the company's integrated freight car manufacturing, aftermarkets, leasing and services business model. McManus will also oversee executive development efforts, public policy issues and corporate development activities. Effective upon her appointment, McManus resigned as a member of Greenbrier's board of directors, a position she has held since 2009. McManus' credentials include over 20 years' experience in the finance industry, with emphasis on the rail equipment sector. She was head of Babcock & Brown's North American Rail Group from its founding in 1999 until mid-2008.During this tenure, the rail group raised significant capital from the European and Asian markets for investment in rail assets placed under operating leases, and became a major participant in the rail equipment marketplace. Before joining Babcock & Brown, McManus was an executive with The CIT Group for 10 years. Her last position at CIT was president of the rail division, where she changed the strategic direction of the business to a full-service platform to provide both financial and equipment leasing services to the rail freight industry.

BluWrap, San Francisco
Former Icicle Seafoods CEO Dennis Guhlke was named a member of the board of directors. Guhlke has been in the seafood industry for over 20 years.

Spirax Sarco, Blythewood, S.C.
Shaun Lindley was appointed as vice president of sales, responsible for all sales activities for the U.S. business. Lindley brings with him demonstrated success in exceeding sales targets and profitability while executing strategic initiatives and leading sales organizations to growth. Previously, he held a number of sales positions in the Newman Hattersley and IMI’s CCI severe service valve manufacturing business. 

IN MEMORIUM: ROBERT WEIS, WEIS MARKETS

Robert Weis, former chairman of Weis Markets Inc., Sunbury, Pa., passed away.

Weis helped oversee the company’s growth and expansion into six states. In 1995, he became chairman of Weis Markets. Since 2009, Weis Markets has made record investments in its growth, acquiring 11 units, upgrading more than 100 and opening nine new stores.

In 2001, after a multi-year dispute with the heirs of Sigfried Weis, who attempted to force a sale of Weis Markets, Weis directed a re-purchase of their stock, and subsequently became the company’s largest shareholder. This move solidified the company’s strategic direction and helped preserve more than 18,000 jobs, including more than 1,000 in the Sunbury area, where it continues to operate a store support center, distribution center and milk, ice cream and meat plants.

Weis and his wife, Patricia, are the parents of three children—Jonathan Weis, who serves as Weis Markets’ chairman, president and CEO; Colleen Ross Weis; and Jennifer Weis Monsky. Weis is also survived by nine grandchildren and a sister, Ellen Wasserman.

During his life, Weis has served as vice chairman of the board of trustees of Susquehanna University, where he held an honorary doctorate of letters. He was a past president and member of the board of trustees of Sunbury Community Hospital, past president of the Sunbury Chamber of Commerce, a past director of Susquehanna Bancshares, a bank holding company, and a former chairman of the First National Trust Bank of Sunbury.