ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:

The National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA), Harrisburg, Pa.
Scott Rouse, chief commercial officer for Tyson Foods, Inc.,was elected chairman of the board. Rouse has served on the board of directors since 2005. He served as vice chairman-frozen from 2010-2013, secretary from 2013-2014 and chairman-elect from 2014-2015. Rouse has been with Tyson Foods for 10 years, and has served in various roles, including vice president of grocery and senior vice president of customer development. Additional officers sworn in are as follows: Joy Sgro, C&S Wholesale Grocers, chairman-elect; John Farmer, Dairy Farmers of America,secretary; Ray Tarnowski, Philadelphia Warehouse & Cold Storage, treasurer; Dave Jones, Kellogg Co., vice chairman-frozen; and Kristina Cole, WhiteWave Foods, vice chairman-refrigerated. Newly elected to the board of directors were Dave Damrath, Tops Markets;Bob Dernbach, Southeast Food Distribution; Tim Heil; Schwan’s Consumer Brands;Dave Howlett, Wakefern Food Corp.; Joe Kent, InnovAsian Cuisine Enterprises;Randall King, Lowes Food Stores;Bob Knodle, H.P. Hood, LLC;Paul Peterson, Lactalis Retail Dairy; and Mike Ridenour, The Kraft Heinz Food Group. Elected for a second term on the board of directors were Brian Haley, Burris Logistics; Steve Mayle, General Mills; Marty Steinmetz, United States Cold Storage;Ken Stubbs, Florida’s Natural Growers; and Jimmy Taylor, ConAgra Foods.

American Egg Board, Park Ridge, Ill.
Chief executive Joanne Ivy stepped down earlier than planned after she allegedly sent emails trying to stop the sale of a vegan mayonnaise at Whole Foods. Ivy retired at the end of September; her original retirement date was Dec. 31.

National Chicken Council, Washington, D.C.
Todd Simmons, chief executive officer of Simmons Foods, was installed as 2015-2016 chairman. He began working at Simmons in 1990, and joined the management team in 1994 following college graduation. A third generation leader of the company, Simmons was most recently promoted to chief executive officer and vice chairman in December 2012, after having served as chief operating officer of both the poultry and pet food divisions for the previous six years.Serving as vice chairman for 2015-2016 is Mike Popowycz, vice chairman and CFO at Case Foods. Popowycz joined the Ohio division of Case Foods in 1987 as corporate controller, was promoted to corporate treasurer of Case Foods in 1990, became chief financial officer in 1992, and was promoted again to vice chairman and CFO in February 2012.Popowycz was elected to the Case Foods board of directors in 2005 and to the National Chicken Council board of directors in June 2012. Prior to Case Foods, Popowycz spent two years with Bell Atlantic Corp. and seven years with Perdue Farms, serving in various accounting and tax positions. Ben Harrison, president and CEO of Amick Farms, LLC, took over as secretary-treasurer.He has been employed at Amick Farms since 1991, working in various capacities throughout the company until he became president in 2004.Harrison serves on the National Chicken Council board of directors and the U.S. Poultry & Egg board of directors. In addition, Mike Brown was elected to a fourth term as president.

Agri-Food Management Institute, Canada
Alison Robertson was appointed new executive director, effective Nov. 2. Robertson comes to the job with a list of qualifications, including working as program manager for the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association for 11 years, where she helped introduce and run a program that puts more fresh fruits and vegetable snacks into the hands and stomachs of school children in northern Ontario. She also ran Fresh from the Farm: Health Fundraising for Ontario Students, a program in which students raise funds for school activities from the sale of local fresh fruits and vegetables. Robertson sits on Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Horticulture Value Chain Roundtable, is chair of the Consumer Focus Working Group and past chair of the Horticulture for Health Working Group and is a member of the steering committee of the National Health Summit: Increasing Fruit & Vegetable Consumption for a Healthier Canada.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:

Captiva Verde Industries Ltd., Canada
The producer of organic greens, including baby spinach, kale, lettuce, arugula and other greens appointed Allan Silber and Morris Perlis to the board of directors, with Perlis succeeding Jeff Ciachurski as chairman of the board. Meanwhile, Ian Kennedy will be stepping down. Silber is the chairman of the board of Street Capital Group Inc. and Street Capital Financial Corp. He recently served as the chairman and CEO of Counsel Corp., which he founded in 1979. He also played a critical role in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, finance and capital market activities for Counsel Corp. Perlis previously served as president of Counsel Corp. from 1992-2001, a period that included guiding the company's healthcare strategy, resulting in the growth of three investee companies—American HomePatient, PharMerica and Stadtlander Drug. Perlis also brings a wealth of expertise gained in senior strategic and management roles with other leading organizations. He spent 13 years with American Express Inc., including five years as president of American Express Canada.

Nutricopia, Inc., owner of Brio Ice Cream, Montpelier, Vt.
Paul Buckel joined as vice president of sales, bringing with more than two decades of sales experience. Previously, Buckel was vice president of sales at Celtic Sea Salt, where he led efforts that resulted in dramatic sales growth, including new accounts at major supermarket and retail chains, plus increased sales in the natural and specialty category. 

Smithfield Foods, Inc., Smithfield, Va.
Don Butler was promoted to director of corporate affairs, focusing his efforts in North Carolina where Smithfield has its largest investment and over 10,000 employees. He will also serve as a Smithfield spokesperson in North Carolina, and will be dedicated to stakeholder engagement in North Carolina. Butler has served the company for 24 years, most recently as director of government relations and public affairs, responsible for the development and implementation of what is said to be the world's first environmental management system for a livestock operation to achieve certification under the ISO 14001 Standard. Butler also led the development of a comprehensive animal care program using the management system approach. In addition, he served as sustainability officer for the company's hog production division. Butler is past president of the National Pork Producers Council and the North Carolina Pork Council.

SUPPLIERS:

Metl-Span, Lewisville, Texas
Steven Zirkel joined as new president. Zirkel comes to Metl-Span with more than 20 years of global leadership experience. Previously, he was vice president of marketing, sales and commercial excellence at William Scotsman, and also worked as the director of market and business development for Owens Corning, where he led strategy and growth plans for the rigid extruded polystyrene foam insulation business unit. Additionally, while at Owens Corning, he was general manager of the global thermoplastics business and managing director of Asia Pacific.