ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:
Produce Marketing Association (PMA), Newark, Del.
Lindie Stroebel was appointed to the newly created role of general manager for southern Africa, effective Feb. 22. Stroebel will work closely with the global organization, the South Africa volunteer leaders, PMA’s members, government agencies and other stakeholders to support the growth of PMA and the fresh produce industry in southern Africa, including South Africa. Stroebel holds over 13 years of experience in agribusiness. Previously, Stroebel served as the manager of economic intelligence at the Agricultural Business Chamber (AgBiz) in South Africa, where she worked closely with members, industry, government and the media and conducted research and data analysis, including trade competitiveness studies, agribusiness executive surveys, investment trend analysis, value chain analysis and more.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:
Sargento Foods Inc., Plymouth, Wis.
Lynn Webb was named national account sales manager, serving as a key member of the consumer products division sales team. She will manage brand development, division execution, sales objectives and profitability for the seven West area divisions of Albertson’s companies. Webb will also contribute to the development of division plans, execute corporate initiatives and customer division-level distribution targets, and provide recommendations to accelerate category and brand growth and identifying business-building opportunities. She has been national customer business manager in the consumer products division since joining Sargento Foods in September 2013. Previously, Webb worked for McCormick & Co. and Campbell Sales Co. Meanwhile, Lauren Farr joined the newly created position of sales analyst, supporting the Kroger sales team to broaden the company’s understanding of the shopper, category, competition and competitive market. Farr will support Kroger headquarters and will lead in division engagement and business development.  Before joining Sargento, Farr worked at Impact Sales, where she supported the Kroger team as lead sales analyst and developed planograms, analyzed assortment, conducted research and drove in-store execution. Lastly, Erin Johnson joined as customer business manager in the consumer products division, responsible for the Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club accounts. She will also be responsible for identifying new business opportunities and establishing and deepening customer relationships to support corporate strategies and objectives. Previously, Johnson worked at Hallmark Cards as an account executive and sales program leader, and maintains experience working with food brands, including Dannon and Kraft Foods.

Hail Merry, Dallas, Texas
Michael Bepko was named director of digital marketing and brand communications, responsible for developing an integrated communications strategy across online and offline channels, as well as spearheading brand marketing, creative, social media and public relations efforts. Bepko previously led marketing and social media efforts for Whole Foods Market and co-founded its global social media program. He brings extensive digital marketing expertise, having previously managed Whole Food’s digital marketing for 11-plus years and growing the brand’s audience by 8 million and helping scale the company's social footprint to 12 million.

Nomad Foods Ltd., England
Victoria Parry and Jeremy Isaacs were appointed to the board of directors, taking over for Alun Cathcart and Elio Leoni Sceti, who announced their resignations as directors of the company. Parry was global head of product legal for Man Group plc until April 2013, and currently acts as an independent non-executive director and consultant to the funds industry. Prior to the merger of Man Group with GLG Partners in 2010, she was senior legal counsel for GLG Partners LP. Parry joined Lehman Brothers International (Europe) as legal counsel in April 1996. Isaacs is a founding partner of JRJ Group, responsible for the implementation and guidance of fund strategy, as well as the development and execution of portfolio company strategy. Prior to establishing JRJ Group, in late 2008, Isaacs held senior executive positions with Lehman Brothers.

The Kroger Co., Cincinnati
Marnette Perry, senior vice president for retail operations and strategic initiatives, announced plans to retire April 29 after 44 years with the company. Perry joined Kroger in 1972 as a part-time cashier in in the Columbus division. She went on to serve as director of produce merchandising and procurement, and was later promoted to president of the Michigan division in 1997. She was later named president of the Columbus division in 2001, then promoted to group vice president of perishables in 2003. In 2004, she was named senior vice president of retail divisions, responsible for eight supermarket operating divisions and more than $40 billion in annual revenue. She took on her current role, overseeing strategic initiatives and operations for Kroger, as well as the company's value formats, in 2012.

FOODSERVICE:
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc., Greenwood Village, Colo.
Denny Marie Post was promoted to president, and Stuart Brown was promoted to executive vice president.

SUPPLIERS:
International Business Systems (IBS), Roseville, Calif.
Jayne Archbold was named chief executive officer, succeeding Steven Hargreaves, a Marlin Equity Partners operating president who served as interim CEO following the acquisition of IBS by Marlin Equity Partners in July 2015. Archbold is a seasoned executive with 18 years of experience in the ERP sector, most recently at Sage Group plc, where she led the global mid-market and enterprise customer business. Most recently, she was CEO of Sage Mid-Market Division Europe, responsible for expanding the company's first-ever global ERP product into new geographies and taking it from regional to global distribution, achieving double-digit growth during the last 12 months in her post.

KM Packaging Services, UK
John Shipley was appointed business development manager, taking over responsibility for some existing UK and export customers. Shipley maintains experience in film and pouch conversion for fast-moving consumer goods markets across Northern Europe. Meanwhile, Nigel Down was named technical services manager to provide technical support to the company’s sales team and its customers, with particular focus on new product development and applications.

enVista, Indianapolis, Ind.
Shay Reid joined as a senior director of the life sciences division, responsible for increasing clients’ profits through process optimization using Lean and Six Sigma tools.Reid maintains nearly 25 years of experience in supply chain and 15 years of experience leading organizations in life sciences. Prior to joining enVista, Reid was the interim president and senior vice president of operations at Remedi SeniorCare and the vice president of operations at AmerisourceBergen. He also held positions at, or consulted with, companies such as General Motors, Sunbeam-Oster Household Products, K-Mart and more.

Harpak-ULMA Packaging, LLC, Taunton, Mass.
Jeff Aspinall joined as vice president of technical/customer service, responsible for technical support, including service engineers, phone support group and in-house machining and testing, along with the spare parts business. Aspinall comes to Harpak-ULMA with over 26 years of experience in creating and developing high-performance technical teams, initiating and managing numerous large capital projects and developing and managing capital and strategic business plans for the packaging industry spanning food, medical and consumer goods. He previously spent eight years as director of engineering for ConAgra Foods, where he developed and managed the capital spend for several of the company’s frozen foods plants.

Baumer, Southington, Conn.
Greg Matherly joined as Western region sales manager for industrial cameras andvision sensors. He comes to Baumer with over 25 years’ technology sales, sales management and business development experience, including tenure with a national distributor, several technology start-ups and a Fortune 500 original equipment manufacturer. Matherly was also vice president of sales for DockOn Wireless, and director of Western sales at Cirrus Logic.