ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:
The United Fresh Produce Association, Washington, D.C.
Mary Coppola was promoted to vice president, marketing and communications. Coppola joined the association in the fall of 2014, spearheading the organization’s marketing and communications efforts. She also took on the role of staff liaison to the association’s Produce Marketing & Merchandising Council, where she worked with volunteer leaders to create a strong professional community of produce marketers.

Produce Marketing Association (PMA), Newark, Del.
Dan Stark joined as chief content officer, effective in January, responsible for providing leadership to the organization’s marketing, communications and education efforts. Stark maintains experience in digital transformation and content delivery across the non-profit sector, with a focus on technology, innovation and governance. In past roles, Stark has led product strategy for a software development company, and served as principal at a consulting firm. He also served as executive director of the American Public Gardens Association.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:
Performance Food Group Co. (PFG), Richmond, Va.
Craig Hoskins was named president and CEO of the foodservice segment and executive vice president of PFG. Hoskins was named president and CEO of PFG Customized Distribution and senior vice president of PFG in January 2012, after serving as president and COO of Customized Distribution. He assumed additional responsibility for Performance Foodservice’s sales and marketing in January 2018, and has served as interim president and CEO of Performance Foodservice since August 2018. Hoskins joined PFG in 2008 following its merger with Vistar Corp., where he progressed through successive roles in sales and marketing, merchandising/purchasing and operations. He sits on the board of Omnivore and the International Foodservice Distributors Association, where he serves as vice chair.

Ben E. Keith Foods, Fort Worth, Texas
Mike Needham will assume the role of vice president of purchasing and logistics, effective July 15, succeeding Andy McCaskill, who announced plans to retire after 36 years with the company. McCaskill has been vice president of purchasing and logistics since 2011. Previous to that, he touched virtually every corner of Ben E. Keith Foods since arriving in the Dallas purchasing department in 1982. A few of his many roles have included director of grocery, vice president of grocery non-foods and vice president of purchasing. He was also general manager of Oklahoma and San Antonio divisions from 2008-2014. Jerry DuBose will take over Needham’s soon-to-be former position as general manager of the Gulf Coast division. DuBose has been that division's assistant general manager since 2014. DuBose joined Ben E. Keith in 1996 as a district sales representative, and was later promoted to district sales manager and eventually director of sales training.

Peco Foods, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Benny Bishop, chief operating officer, announced plans to retire, effective March 28. Bishop has served in his current senior management position since 2009. Bishop joined the company in 2006 as special projects manager. He began his career with Gold Kist Poultry, then spent six years with Conagra Poultry and 14 years with Southland Broilers. In 1992, he joined Wayne Farms as complex manager, and later became Wayne Farms’ area manager for North Alabama in 2001. Before joining the Peco team in 2006, he was general manager of catfish operations for American Pride Seafoods/Southern Pride Catfish.

Earth Fare, Asheville, N.C.
Dr. Angela Hind was named new chief medical officer, tasked with working across all departments to enact and oversee a corporate health and wellness strategy. Hind practiced internal medicine for nearly 20 years, and has had training in molecular toxicology and functional medicine to create an integrative approach to prevent and treat disease through diet, toxin avoidance and stress reduction. Hind will be responsible for supporting Earth Fare’s commitment to health and well-being, creating a customer wellness program for specific health objectives, strengthening employees’ understanding of health and wellness and developing wellness-oriented employee benefits. Hind has consulted with Earth Fare to develop programs, including the Clean Pantry Makeover, and contributed to Earth Fare’s in-store magazine The Clean Plate.

Krasdale Foods, White Plains, N.Y.
Dennis Hickey was appointed chief merchandising officer, tasked with running day-to-day operations in Florida and managing merchandising for the area's Bravo stores and Krasdale's Beta II marketing office in Miami. Hickey joined the company seven years ago.

FOODSERVICE:
Papa John’s International, Inc., Louisville, Ky.
Jeffrey Smith joined as independent board member, following the $200 million strategic investment from Starboard Value LP. Smith is a managing member, chief executive officer and chief investment officer of Starboard Value. Smith has served on many boards, including as chairman of the board of Darden Restaurants, where he oversaw a restaurant turnaround and board transformation. He currently serves as chairman of the board of Advance Auto Parts, and is a member of the board of Perrigo. Anthony Sanfilippo also joined as independent board member. He maintains significant board, senior executive and operating expertise in the gaming and hospitality industries, most recently serving as chairman and CEO of Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc. prior to its acquisition by Penn National Gaming, Inc. Previously, Sanfilippo was president and CEO of Multimedia Games, Inc., and before that, served in various roles at Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. (now known as Caesars Entertainment Corp.), including president of the Western division and President of the Central division, overseeing the operations of more than two dozen casino and casino-hotel destinations. Sanfilippo was also president and COO of Harrah’s New Orleans. He has served on the boards of directors of Pinnacle Entertainment, Multimedia Games and Jazz Casino Corp. Steve Ritchie, Papa John’s president and CEO, was also appointed to the board.

SUPPLIERS:
BakeMark, Pico Rivera, Calif.
John Kupniewski was named new vice president of branch development and manufacturing, effective Feb. 4. In addition to manufacturing, Kupniewski will also oversee the Los Angeles branch, including sales, procurement and operations. Kupniewski maintains over 30 years of experience in plant operations and manufacturing. Most recently, he served as vice president of supply chain at CSM Bakery Solutions, where he was responsible for the strategic development and day-to-day operations of CSM's manufacturing and supply chain organizations in North America. His experience also includes working in various plant operations and manufacturing leadership roles with Safeway, Bimbo Bakeries and Ralphs. Kupniewski served in the U.S. Air Force for four years.

American Pasteurization Company (APC), Milwaukee, Wis.
Keith Brill joined as chief financial officer. Brill maintains deep experience working with multi-national companies in external audit and corporate finance. Most recently, he was controller at A.L. Schutzman Co., and prior to that, served as a senior analyst with Rexnord Corp.

Matrix Technologies, Inc., Maumee, Ohio
Matthew Burton joined as operations manager for the company’s new office in the Southeast region. Burton previously worked as a founding member and general manager of two other systems integration companies, and has served as staff engineer, project leader and technical consultant in the engineering and technology industries.

Dachser USA, Atlanta, Ga.
Vincent Touya joined as managing director of the company’s regional U.S. office, effective Feb. 1. Touya has held several managerial positions during his 30-year tenure with Dachser. Previously, he was responsible for the expansion of the air and sea freight business in France and North Africa. Prior to that, he was head of sales for Dachser France’s overland transport organization.

Eriez-USA, Erie, Pa.
Dave Heubel was promoted to the newly created position of senior sales director, effective Jan. 3, tasked with overseeing sales in the United States, Canada, Central and South America and select Middle Eastern countries. Heubel joined Eriez in 1990 as a technical sales representative, and has served in various roles in his nearly three decades with the company. His past titles include separation product manager, national sales manager, and most recently, director of North American sales.

The New York Shipping Exchange (NYSHEX), New York
Newly appointed board of directors include Peter Hildebrandt, vice president and senior transformation partner, Maersk, representing carriers; April Zobel, logistics and export manager, The Andersons, representing shippers; Philip London, technology management consultant and advisor; and Jesper Praestensgaard, managing partner, Humanostics, who will serve as chairman of the board.

Magline, Inc., Standish, Mich.
Fran Bridges was named vice president of engineering, responsible for the development, design and innovation of new products as well as continuous improvement of current designs. Bridges maintains over 20 years of experience defining, planning and implementing multi-faceted programs. He most recently served as vice president of operations for Segway, responsible for strategy development, product design, material planning and procurement, quality, customer technical support and manufacturing operations. Additional experience includes leadership roles with Visteon Corp. and Ford Motor Co.

eDriving, Cape May, N.J.
Eric Shishko was appointed vice president of strategic partnerships, charged with facilitating key strategic partner relationships and spearheading new business development worldwide. Shishko maintains experience addressing driving risk through the implementation of effective behavioral-based programs. Most recently, he served as finance and compliance leader for UBI at Willis Towers Watson. He was also co-founder and CEO of StreetOwl, and prior to that, head of global operations for the Towers Watson UBI team. Shishko has also served as senior vice president, insurance and strategic alliances for GreenRoad; executive vice president of DriveCam; president and CEO of Newstar Solutions; and president of Maestro Commerce.

KION Group AG, Germany
John Feldmann announced plans to resign as chairman of the company's Supervisory Board. As a result, Michael Macht, a mechanical engineer, and Tan Xuguang, chairman of Weichai Power, will re-join the Supervisory Board as shareholder representatives. Macht is to be nominated as chairman of the Supervisory Board. Macht was a member of the board of management of Volkswagen AG, responsible for group production from 2010-2014. From 1998-2010, he served on the executive board at Porsche AG, and most recently as chief executive officer. In June 2018, Macht became a non-executive member of Weichai Power's board of directors. He joined KION’s Supervisory Board in October 2018. Feldmann has been chairman of the Supervisory Board since 2011, where he has played a key role in the transformation from a European industrial truck manufacturer into a provider of intralogistics and automation solutions.

IN MEMORIUM: DICK KNOWLTON, HORMEL FOODS

Dick Knowlton, former chairman of the board, president and CEO of Hormel Foods, Austin, Minn., passed away.

Knowlton worked for Hormel Foods in the summers during high school and college, and joined the company in 1954 as merchandising manager while serving two years as a U.S. Air Force intelligence officer. In April 1959, he transferred to Austin, and was appointed manager of the Minnesota route car division.

In 1963, Knowlton advanced to manager of route car division sales at the Austin plant, and in 1967, was promoted to route car division sales manager for the company’s meat products division. He was named assistant manager of the Austin plant in April 1969, and named general manager in August 1969.

Knowlton was named vice president of the operations group and elected to the company’s board of directors in September 1974. He was promoted to group vice president of the operations group in 1975. In 1979, Knowlton was named president and COO, and in 1981, was named chief executive officer and chairman of the board. He retired from his chief executive officer role in 1993 and chairman in 1995.

Under Knowlton’s leadership, Hormel Foods broadened its offerings and moved from a commodities-based meat processor to a highly diversified multi-national consumer foods company. Knowlton led the introduction of many pioneering products, including shelf-stable, microwaveable foods for adults and children; an extensive line of 97% fat-free products; and fresh, health-oriented foods uniquely packaged for convenience and quick preparation.

During a 13-year period (1979-1992) as president and 12 years (1981-1993) as chief executive officer, Knowlton’s vision led Hormel Foods from a company with sales of $1.4 billion to one of sales approaching $3 billion. Beginning with his tenure as president, Hormel Foods gained in financial strength as evidenced by a doubling of dollar sales, a record 10 consecutive years of improved net earnings, four two-for-one stock splits, yearly increases in cash dividends and an approximate 1,000% increase in market value of the corporation’s common stock.

Knowlton served as chairman of the board of The Hormel Foundation from 1995-2009, distributing more than $87 million for projects to benefit the Austin community. He also received many awards for his leadership, including Carnegie-Mellon’s Outstanding Crisis Manager of the Year in 1987, the Anti-Defamation League’s Man of Achievement Award in 1990 and the Industry Advancement Award by the American Meat Institute in 1993. He was inducted into the Meat Industry Hall of Fame in 2009.

Knowlton served on several corporate boards, including U.S. Bancorp, SUPERVALU and ING America Insurance Holdings. He was chairman emeritus of the Horatio Alger Association, and served on the boards of the Eisenhower Medical Center, Leeds Business School at the University of Colorado and FutureFuel Chemical Co. He was also an advisor to the president of the Mayo Clinic.

Knowlton is survived by his wife Nancy and their five children Scott, Kim, Claudia, David and Julie.

IN MEMORIUM: GREG TANNER, DEAN FOODS CO.

Gregg Tanner, former chief executive officer of Dean Foods Co., Dallas, Texas, passed away Jan. 24, surrounded by his family.

Tanner retired as chief executive officer of Dean Foods in 2017. When he passed, he was serving on the board of directors for Phoenix Children’s Hospital, SunOpta, Gemini, SpartanNash and Boston Beer.

He also owned two GolfTEC franchises.

He is survived by his wife Kathryn, daughter Jamie, daughter and son-in-law Brianna and Michael Mobley, granddaughters Eliana and Adaline, son Nicholas, older sister Cyndi Fowler, brother Jeff Tanner, and youngest sister Lisa Rumbaugh.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Hospice of the Valley, Phoenix, Ariz.