ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:
The Pennsylvania Beef Council, Bedford, Pa.
Newly elected to the council’s board include Harrison Hartman, herd manager at Scattered Acres’ Reinholds, Pa., facility; Duff George, Northeast regional manager at Alltech, Nicholasville, Ky.; Marty Yahner, owner of Yahner Bros., Patton, Pa.; and Joe Beaman, foodservice representative from Deer Lakes School District, Pittsburgh, Pa. Chris Jeffcoat, regional manager for the Northeast region of the American Angus Association, will serve as chairman, succeeding outgoing chairman, Bobbi Dunn, co-owner of Dunn Herefords, who led the board from 2017-2018. Washington County beef producer and sale barn owner David Kearns, Jr. is the new vice chairperson. Adam Kauf, dairy and livestock nutritionist, will serve as treasurer, while Ned Hower, Northampton County beef producer, will serve as secretary.

The National Fisheries Institute (NFI), Washington, D.C.
The Crab Council elected Brice Phillips, director of club store sales at Phillips Foods, as chairman.

AIB International, Manhattan, Kan.
Steve Robert was named vice president, global sales, effective Jan. 1, 2019. Robert maintains more than 14 years of experience in the foodservice channel, having served as a senior sales leader with multiple premier food equipment and service companies. Most recently, he was global vice president of corporate accounts for EcoSure’s food safety and brand standards division. He also maintains international experience, having executed strategic customer acquisitions in emerging global markets such as China. In addition, Robert has worked in the financial services sector.

Manatee County Port Authority, Palmetto, Fla.
Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh was elected to a third consecutive 1-year term as chairwoman of the governing board of Port Manatee. Baugh has served on the port board since 2012. Reggie Bellamy, candidate for Manatee County Commission District 2 and dean at Buffalo Creek Middle School, joined as vice chairman, while Misty Servia, candidate for Manatee County Commission District 4, joined the board of directors. Priscilla Whisenant Trace, Manatee County Commissioner District 1, was elected first vice chairwoman, while Betsy Benac, commissioner of Manatee County, Fla., as third vice chairwoman.

The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI), Juneau, Ak.
Communications director Jeremy Woodrow will serve as the interim executive director, taking over for Alexa Tonkovich, who resigned to pursue a masters in international business. Woodrow has served as the ASMI communications director since January 2017. Prior to joining ASMI, he was communications officer for the Alaska Department of Transportation.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:
Butterball, LLC, Garner, N.C.
Kerry Doughty announced plans to step down as president and CEO for health reasons, after more than 10 years with the company and 40-plus years in the industry. Doughty joined Butterball as executive vice president of sales, marketing and research and development in 2007, after a lengthy career in foodservice sales and branding, responsible for Butterball’s domestic and international retail and foodservice customer relationships, marketing and public relations initiatives and new product and innovation development. He was named president and CEO in 2014, responsible for business strategy, including launching the company’s first “no antibiotics ever” and organic product lines and creating Butterball’s Animal Care and Well-Being program and certification under American Humane. Doughty held board of director roles with the National Turkey Federation, the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the North American Meat Institute and the Triangle American Heart Association. Prior to joining Butterball, Doughty worked for more than 25 years in sales and brand development, most recently as vice president of foodservice for Perdue Farms. As a result, Jay Jandrain was appointed president and CEO. Jandrain previously served as chief operating officer for Butterball, overseeing plant operations, corporate purchasing, transportation and warehousing, demand and supply planning, corporate engineering and R&D. Jandrain joined Butterball in May 2002 as director of product R&D. He has since held roles such as vice president of deli sales, vice president of product R&D, vice president of integrated business strategy and executive vice president of sales. Prior to Butterball, Jandrain held multiple sales, marketing and R&D management positions with Cargill and Plantation Foods.

Jacmar Foodservice Distribution, City of Industry, Calif.
Jim Hliboki was named new president, effective immediately, following the departure of Randy Moore, who has served as president for the last 3 years. Hliboki has served as executive vice president and CFO since 2013. Before landing at Jacmar, his previous experience includes positions at Warner Music, Sony Music and Ernst & Young.

Sara Lee Frozen Bakery, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.
Ryan Malone was named chief marketing officer. Malone has worked with leading food companies for more than 25 years, most recently as senior director of marketing of McCain Foods USA, where he oversaw the U.S. potato portfolio and led the growth, launch and renovation of key category offerings. Prior to McCain Foods, Malone held marketing roles of increasing responsibility at Kellogg Co. and Kraft Foods, where he worked on Pop-Tarts, Special K and Maxwell House brands. He also worked for Kronos Foods in both sales and marketing leadership roles. Malone began his career at the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Group. And, Wendy Webb Williams was appointed chief legal officer. Williams most recently led the law department for the North America and Europe regions for Mead Johnson Nutrition, where she supported the commercial, regulatory and litigation needs in the United States, Canada and six countries in Europe. Previously, she served as associate general counsel for US Foodservice, Inc., where she supported the merchandising, compliance, operational strategy, employment and government sales functions. Prior to her in-house experience, she was part of the corporate services group at McGuire Woods LLP.

The Kroger Co., Cincinnati
Gary Millerchip will succeed J. Michael Schlotman as senior vice president and CFO of Kroger, effective April 4, 2019, following Schlotman’s retirement as chief financial officer in December 2019. Schlotman started his career with Coopers & Lybrand accounting firm, before joining Kroger in 1985. He was elected vice president and corporate controller in 1995, and then chief financial officer in January 2000. Millerchip currently serves as chief executive officer for Kroger Personal Finance, responsible for several retail grocery divisions and leading the integration of Kroger's corporate strategic initiatives. Millerchip came to Kroger in 2010 from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), responsible for the personal credit card business in the UK. Millerchip joined RBS in 1987, and held leadership positions in multiple disciplines during his time there. Meanwhile, Victor Smith was promoted to president of the Delta division, taking over for Scot Hendricks, who announced plans to retire, effective Feb. 2, 2019, after 38 years with the company. Hendricks spent the last three years leading Kroger's Delta division with 15,800 associates, serving customers in 101 stores across West Tennessee and parts of Mississippi, Arkansas, Kentucky and Missouri. He began his career with Kroger in the Nashville division management training program in 1981. After two years, he was promoted to a grocery buyer. From 1986-2000, he served in several leadership roles in the Atlanta division, and in 2000, was promoted to Kroger's corporate office, where he served in different roles of increasing responsibility, including vice president of grocery merchandising and procurement. In 2011, he was promoted to vice president of merchandising for the Cincinnati/Dayton division, where he served until he was appointed to vice president of operations in 2014. In October 2015, Hendricks was promoted to his current role. Smith currently serves as vice president of merchandising for the Ralphs division. Smith joined Kroger in 1983 as a courtesy clerk in the Ralphs division. He advanced to other roles within the division, including store manager, operations research analyst, shrink manager, operations coordinator, district manager and meat merchandiser. In 2015, he was promoted to vice president of operations in the Houston, Texas, division, before returning to Ralphs in his current role in 2016, where he leads merchandising, both sales and marketing, for all 191 Ralphs locations throughout Southern California.

Foundation Food Group, Gainesville, Ga.
Industry veteran Jerry Wilson was named chief executive officer of the newly formed joint venture. Wilson is a seasoned business development professional with 38 years in the poultry business. And, Kathy Ford was named chief financial officer. Like Wilson, Ford most recently comes from Albertville Quality Foods, where she helped build the company's financial and administrative team. She maintains experience in financial reporting and forecasting, human resources, business development, compliance and contract management.

Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc., Canton, Mass.
The parent company of Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins named Tom Manchester as senior vice president, integrated marketing, Dunkin' U.S., responsible for culinary innovation, consumer insights, brand marketing and field marketing. For the past 17 years, Manchester has led the brand's sports marketing initiatives and developed a sports strategy built on storytelling and partnerships. He directed Dunkin's sponsorships of the NHL, NWHL and U.S Women's National Hockey Team. Prior to joining Dunkin', Manchester held management positions at The Gillette Co. and Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. Jonathan Biggs was named vice president, operations, Baskin-Robbins U.S. & Canada, responsible for more than 2,600 Baskin-Robbins shops in the United States and Canada. Biggs joined Dunkin' Brands in 2008, assuming increasing responsibility as a leader on the Dunkin' U.S. operations team, which included opening the Phoenix market and helping direct the rollout of Dunkin's next-generation restaurant experience. Over the past 10 years, his roles have included field operations and new market entry for Western expansion and leading brand initiatives across technology, product and equipment platforms. Prior to Dunkin' Brands, Biggs worked as a project engineer at Southern Co., managing teams and large-scale projects within the energy sector. And, Rick Gestring was appointed vice president, operating systems and restaurant experience, Dunkin', charged with leading, managing and supporting the integration of improved and enhanced restaurant level execution and guest satisfaction as well as developing, implementing, managing and improving the restaurant management systems, equipment, procedures and tools for Dunkin's franchisees. Gestring joins Dunkin' after nearly a decade in multiple roles at Arby's Restaurant Group, most recently as vice president, restaurant experience, responsible for ensuring the integrity of the Arby's brand in all aspects of the guest experience in 3,340 restaurants. His background also includes leadership positions at Peet's Coffee, Aramark, Starbucks, Don Pablo's and Taco Bell.

Lakeside Foods Inc., Manitowoc, Wis.
Reagan Russell will join as vice president of foodservice sales, charged with building a go-to-market sales strategy that aligns with the company’s long-term growth plan. Russell maintains 16 years of foodservice sales experience in the packaged vegetable industry. Mark Leibham, a 35-year veteran of Lakeside, who has led its foodservice team since 2013, will move into a newly created role as vice president of chain and industrial sales.

Raley’s, West Sacramento, Calif.
Deirdre Zimmermann was named chief customer experience officer, tasked with driving internal and external awareness of the company’s vision. Zimmermann has served in an executive position since joining the organization in 2015, beginning as senior vice president, marketing and e-commerce, where she developed and implemented a targeted digital marketing strategy to gain new customers and build loyalty through Raley’s Something Extra Rewards program. She also led improvements and drove growth in the online shopping experience on raleys.com.

Borden, Dallas, Texas
Jason Monaco was appointed chief financial officer, effective immediately. Monaco maintains more than 20 years of experience as a business and finance leader, with extensive knowledge of financial planning and analysis, treasury, risk management, business analytics and trade promotion management. He most recently served as vice president finance/group CFO for Celanese Corp. Previous to that, he served as vice president and treasurer at Arrow Electronics, and spent 16 years in a variety of finance leadership roles at KimberlyClark, where he oversaw the company’s corporate finance function in the United States, Europe, Australia and South Asia. He also served as chief financial officer for KimberlyClark, Latin America.

Blount Fine Foods, Fall River, Mass.
Rachael Blount Girard was promoted to foodservice national accounts market manager, responsible for generating awareness, preference and demand for Blount products through a mix of traditional and digital advertising, digital and direct contact engagement and content creation and distribution for restaurant chains and large foodservice operators nationwide. Blount Girard started in the company’s retail division, working in Blount Clam Shacks. Then, she moved over to marketing, which included product and event photography and social media, and became a spokeswoman for Blount products sold on QVC.

Four Seasons Family of Cos., Ephrata, Pa.
Ron Carkoski, who has served as chief executive officer since 2002, announced plans to retire, effective Dec. 21. Carkoski started his career at Four Seasons Produce in 1994 as director of procurement after previous leadership roles at Gateway Foods. In 2006, Carkoski formed three new companies to respond to opportunities within the produce industry—Earth Source Trading, Sunrise Logistics and Sunrise Transport, along with Four Seasons Produce, which today, make up the Four Seasons Family of Cos.  Under Ron’s dynamic leadership, the Four Seasons Family of Companies experienced tremendous growth. Carkoski has been active in the produce industry throughout his career, serving as chairman of the United Fresh board of directors and chairman of its Wholesale Distributor Board. He’s also served on the board of directors of the Delaware Valley Floral Group and chairman of the Delaware Valley Floral Group’s Talen and Human Resources Committee. Most recently, he was elected to the Peninsula Music Festival Foundation Board of Trustees and is a member of the Make-A-Wish of Philadelphia and Susquehanna Valley Board of Directors. 

The Allen Lund Co. (ALC), La Cañada Flintridge, Calif.
Zach Anderson was promoted to assistant manager of the St. Louis, Mo., office. Anderson has been with ALC for four years, starting out as a transportation broker, then promoted to business development.

Nestlé S.A., Switzerland
Members of the newly created Scientific Advisory Board include Tamas Bartfai, adjunct professor in Stockholm Univeristy’s Department of Neurochemistry, Stockholm University; Sir Stephen Bloom, head of Division for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, chair of the academic Section of Endocrinology and Investigative Medicine at Imperial College London and lead clinician for Clinical Chemistry at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust; Adam Drewnowski, professor, Epidemiology at University of Washington; Thomas Hofmann, professor of Computer Technische at Universität München; Ian MacDonald, professor of Metabolic Physiology at the University of Nottingham; Simin Nikbin Meydani, laboratory director and senior scientist of Nutritional Immunology Laboratory at Tufts University; Neena Modi, professor of Neonatal Medicine at Imperial College London; Susan Ozanne, professor of Developmental Endocrinology at University of Cambridge; Erich Windhab, full professor of Food Process Engineering at the Institute of Food Science and Nutrition at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich; and Ramnik Xavier, core institute member of Massachusetts General Hospital and Broad Institute Boston.

Campbell Soup Co., Camden, N.J.
Mark Clouse was named president and CEO, effective Jan. 22, 2019, succeeding Keith McLoughlin, who has served as interim president and CEO since May. Clouse maintains more than 20 years of experience in the food industry, having most recently served as chief executive officer of Pinnacle Foods, Inc. During Clouse’s 2.5-year tenure, he helped grow or maintain market share in each of its top categories, delivered double-digit adjusted EPS growth and integrated the Boulder Brands acquisition. Prior to that, he served as served as chief commercial officer and chief growth officer for Mondelēz International, where he was responsible for the company’s growth strategy and key functions, including corporate strategy, global marketing, global sales and research, development and quality. Throughout his 20-year tenure at Kraft Foods, Clouse served in a range of leadership positions managing food brands in developed markets and entrepreneurial global businesses in emerging markets such as Brazil and China. Prior to joining Kraft, Clouse served in the United States Army as a pilot and completed his service as a Captain.

FOODSERVICE:
Smashburger, Denver, Colo.
Jose “Pepot” Miñana assumed the role of president, overseeing the daily operations of the company, collaborating on strategic and brand direction and leading efforts to integrate Smashburger into its new parent company Jollibee Foods Corp.’s (JFC} portfolio of companies/brands. Miñana has held numerous senior management positions over his multi-decade tenure with JFC, most recently as president of JFC North America. Tom Ryan, founder and CEO, will take on the additional title of chief product development advisor of JFC Global, where he will focus on strengthening taste and quality aspects across key JFC brands as well as enhancing JFC brands’ relevance across global markets. Ryan remains chief executive officer, focused on brand vision, strategy, product and public relations.

Fogo de Chão, Inc., Dallas, Texas
President Barry McGowan will become chief executive officer, following Larry Johnson’s plans to retire from his role of chief executive officer, effective Dec. 31, after 11 years as the company’s CEO. Under Johnson’s leadership, the company grew from 11 locations in the United States and Brazil to 51 locations worldwide, and increased revenue from $132 million to more than $330 million. Johnson was also integral in leading the company through its initial public offering in 2015 and subsequent “go-private” transaction earlier this year.

SUPPLIERS:
TriumphPay, Dallas, Texas
Mitch Hixon was appointed to the newly created role of vice president, business development, where he will focus on marketing the company’s financing and vendor payment solutions to the Top 100 brokers and intermediary businesses. Hixon maintains over 38 years of transportation management and supply chain experience with J.B. Hunt and Pegasus TransTech (TRANSFLO). He most recently served as executive vice president, membership engagement at BiTA (Blockchain in Transport Alliance).

MonarchFx, a business unit of Tompkins International, Raleigh, N.C.
Warren Bishop was named operations director, overseeing all MonarchFx distributed logistics facilities throughout the United States and Canada. Previously, Bishop served as vice president of finance, planning, analysis, reporting and process improvement for Macy’s Logistics. He’s also served as senior vice president of logistics at Levitz Furniture; vice president of supply chain at Giggle; and director of East region distribution at Toys R Us. Bishop maintains experience setting logistics strategy and running home delivery for three retailers, leading a private fleet and improving the productivity of 34 different distribution or fulfillment centers by an average of 27%. His operational experience is deep across many different retail and product categories, including furniture, appliance, apparel, consumer packaged goods, toys, infant care and jewelry. Bishop is also a veteran of the United States Armed Forces, with service as an Infantry Officer, Airborne, Ranger and Commander during the Panama Invasion, Operation Just Cause.

Pelican BioThermal, Minneapolis
Lynaye Reynolds was appointed worldwide director of quality. Reynolds joined the company three years ago as quality manager at of the company’s Leighton Buzzard site in the UK, where she led the site certification to the latest ISO standards of the company’s Plymouth, Minn., site. She also played a key role in supporting the start-up of the company’s new Indianapolis Service Centre. She maintains extensive experience in the pharmaceutical and manufacturing industry.

QAD Inc., Santa Barbara, Calif.
Anton Chilton was named chief executive officer, succeeding Karl Lopker, who passed away earlier this year. Chilton most recently served as QAD's chief, global field operations, where he oversaw sales, marketing and services activities. He joined the company in 2004 as services director of QAD's Asia-Pacific region, and later served as managing director of QAD Australia and New Zealand; senior vice president – strategic global accounts; and senior vice president - professional services. Chilton maintains nearly 30 years of enterprise resource planning and operations management experience. Prior to joining QAD, he served in various senior roles in global systems integration at Atos Origin and Cap Gemini. He began his career at British Steel designing software and infrastructure solutions.