The Western Association of Food Chains has named Andrea Dimond as senior director of educational strategy and development.
Dimond has spent more than 20 years in the food industry. She began her career with CPC Baking Business (now known as Bimbo Bakeries USA), recruited from UCLA into a leadership training program. Two years later, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, a division of Nestlé, hired her as a category manager and she spent the next 18 years working for Nestlé in various roles.
Dimond has held positions in marketing, finance, operations and sales. She expanded her knowledge in the industry by transitioning to other companies and taking on greater roles, such as the VP of sales role at Ready Pac and then chief commercial officer at Merical, leading sales and marketing teams.
Eventually, she returned to Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream as head of sales, grocery west and received a master’s degree in food industry leadership from University of Southern California. Dimond is also a 2008 graduate of the USC Food Industry Management Program.
“Adding Andrea to our team will help the WAFC accelerate our mission to advance the food industry through education and leadership,” said Pat Posey, COO WAFC.
“Andrea’s knowledge of our industry, her educational background and her deep relationships with both suppliers and retailers will help us as we continue to develop our educational strategy. Andrea is known in our industry as a great leader, outstanding thought processor and dedicated family person. I am very excited to add Andrea to our team and cannot wait to see where we go from here with her leadership.”
Dimond’s husband, Dave, works in the food industry as well. They give back by supporting organizations such as the Illuminators, the Network of Executive Women, City of Hope and several other nonprofits.
For more information, visit wafc.com.
