Kroger, Target, Land O’Lakes and more shuffle around management
ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS: Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA), Portsmouth, N.H. Chris Keller was named director of Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) market development for the Americas, tasked with overseeing the market development team in North America and growing adoption of the BAP third-party certification program amongst retail and foodservice companies. This promotion comes 14 months after Keller joined GAA as BAP market development manager-retail for North America. Keller came to BAP with more than 20 years of retail experience, most notably, 15 years with Walmart, where he held numerous positions, eventually acting as senior buyer. Meanwhile, Melanie Siggs was appointed in the newly created position of director of strategic engagements, tasked with exploring the creation of products and services that meet GAA’s goal of adding value to the organization’s proposition while advocating, educating and demonstrating best practices. She will look at the development of non-core activities, identify opportunities to work with new partners and help lead teams to develop proof-of-concept work, prototypes and pilots. Siggs has acted as an ad hoc advisor to the organization for a number of years, particularly during the development of a new governance structure that led to GAA’s Standards Oversight Committee in 2008, as well as during the formation of an education platform. She has been a board member of the Responsible Aquaculture Foundation, GAA’s educational arm, since 2013. Siggs will also continue in her role as associate director at Sancroft International.
Specialty Food Association, New York Phillip Kafarakis was named president, responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day operations of the non-profit organization. Kafarakis brings more than 30 years of food industry experience, with a background in innovative brand management, membership development and strategic planning. Since May 2013, Kafarakis has served as chief innovation and member advancement officer for the National Restaurant Association. Prior to that, he spent 10 years with McCormick & Co., and has held executive leadership positions at Cargill, Jones Dairy Farm and Kraft.