FMI Elects New Board Members During Midwinter Executive Conference

FMI – The Food Industry Association elected new members to its board of directors during the organization’s annual Midwinter Executive Conference.

The incoming directors bring a diverse range of expertise from across the food industry to help navigate the rapidly evolving business, economic and political landscape in the years ahead.

“FMI’s board of directors serves as the cornerstone of our mission to support and advance the food retail, wholesale and supplier sectors,” said FMI President and CEO Leslie G. Sarasin.

“The addition of these new directors strengthens our collective ability to meet the evolving needs of the industry and respond to the fast-paced changes that are transforming the way consumers shop for food. Together, we are embracing the potential for growth, collaboration and innovation

“FMI is incredibly grateful to our outgoing directors under the leadership of our immediate past chairman, Brian George, for guiding our industry through a difficult economic environment while seizing opportunities to better position our industry for success. We look forward to continuing to build on these successes in the year ahead with incoming Chairman Craig Boyan at the helm and the additional new directors, who join an outstanding group of continuing board members.”

Boyan noted that the association is “committed to fostering a collaborative environment, engaging with stakeholders across the industry to enhance resilience” and improving access to food.

“These appointments will help ensure the organization is equipped to support its members in addressing the opportunities and challenges of today’s marketplace,” he said. “I’m incredibly honored to have been selected to lead this dynamic group of industry executives to help steer FMI and the broader industry through an era of change and growth.”

Executive Committee Officers

• Chairman Craig Boyan, H-E-B, San Antonio, Texas;
• President and CEO Leslie G. Sarasin, FMI, Arlington, Virginia;
• Immediate Past Chairman Brian George, Alex Lee Inc., Hickory, North Carolina; and
• Vice Chairman Oscar Gonzalez, Northgate Gonzalez Market, Anaheim, California.

Committee Chairmen

• Audit: Hank Meijer, Meijer Inc., Grand Rapids, Michigan;
• Communications: Deb Conklin, KeHE Distributors, Naperville, Illinois;
• Finance: Oscar Gonzalez, Northgate Gonzalez Market, Anaheim, California;
• Food Safety: Colleen Wegman, Wegmans Food Markets Inc., Rochester, New York;
• Foundation: Rick Keyes, Meijer Inc., Grand Rapids, Michigan;
• Health and Well-being: Jack Sinclair, Sprouts Farmers Market Inc., Phoenix, Arizona;
• Independent Operators: Sean McMenamin, ShopRite McMenamin, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;
• Industry Relations: JJ Fleeman, Ahold Delhaize USA, Salisbury, North Carolina;
• Product Supplier: Terry Thomas, Flowers Foods, Thomasville, Georgia;
• Public Affairs: Chris Coborn, Coborn’s Inc., St. Cloud, Minnesota;
• Violence Preparedness: Steven Williams, PepsiCo Foods North America, Plano, Texas; and
• Wholesale: Sandy Douglas, UNFI, Providence, Rhode Island.

Executive Committee Directors

• Wesley Eubanks, The Pictsweet Company, Bells, Tennessee;
• Dan Funk, Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc., Kansas City, Kansas;
• Jeremy Gosch, Hy-Vee Inc., West Des Moines, Iowa;
• Norman Mayne, Dorothy Lane Market Inc., Dayton, Ohio;
• Susan Morris, Albertsons Companies, Boise, Idaho;
• Kevin Murphy, Publix Super Markets Inc., Lakeland, Florida;
• Steve Oakland, TreeHouse Foods Inc., Oak Brook, Illinois;
• Melody Richard, Walmart Inc., Bentonville, Arkansas;
• Steve Smith, K-VA-T Food Stores Inc., Abingdon, Virginia;
• Pam Stewart, The Coca-Cola Company, Atlanta, Georgia;
• Mike Stigers, Wakefern Food Corp., Keasbey, New Jersey; and
• Mike Stone, Molly Stone’s Markets, Mill Valley, California.

Additional Directors

• Matt Gregory, Unilever, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey;
• Steve Heggelke, Bozzuto’s Inc., Cheshire, Connecticut;
• Chuck Howell, McClatchy Retail Network, Sacramento, California;
• Joe Kirby, Imperial Distributors Inc., Worcester, Massachusetts;
• Lucho Lopez-May, Mondelez International, East Hanover, New Jersey;
• Suzy Monford, Heritage Grocers Group LLC, Ontario, California;
• Jamie Nelson, Pattison Food Group, Langley, British Columbia, Canada;
• Claire Peters, Amazon.com Inc., Seattle, Washington;
• Arturo Petrozza, Reckitt, Parsippany, New Jersey;
• Ashley Roehm, Acosta, Jacksonville, Florida;
• Herb Smith, Gallo, San Ramon, California; and
• Marty Thompson, Nestlé USA Inc., Arlington, Virginia.

A full member listing of FMI’s leadership can be found here.

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