QuickChek has appointed Chris Smyly as director of foodservice and has hired Chef Ted Kwiecien as culinary specialist. The Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based fresh convenience market chain has been opening newly designed stores with more than half of each new store’s space dedicated to fresh foodservice. Smyly has been a senior category manager with the […]
Category: Executive News
Grocery industry executive news: appointments, promotions and leadership changes at retailers, wholesalers and suppliers.
Follow every leadership change in Executive Moves.
Farmer Bros. CEO Keown Out; Mottern Named Interim CEO
Christopher P. Mottern, who has served as a director on the Farmer Bros. Co. board since 2013, has been appointed to serve as interim CEO, succeeding Michael Keown who, by mutual agreement with the board, stepped down as company president, CEO and director. The change was effective May 7. Farmer Bros. Co. is a Northlake, […]
Ocean Spray Diversifies Leadership With Three New Hires
Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. has appointed Rizal Hamdallah as global chief innovation officer; Katy Latimer as VP of research and development; and Chris O’Connor as VP of marketing. “As we look to the future of Ocean Spray, bringing together a team with a diverse set of strengths will be key to the growth of our […]
Potato Veteran Crumley Joins Sun-Glo Of Idaho Sales Team
Sun-Glo of Idaho has hired potato industry veteran Tron Crumley to its sales team. “My career has been single-mindedly focused on the potato industry. I am also the grandson of Idaho potato farmers, so selling potatoes is in my blood,” Crumley said. “Sun-Glo’s level of customer service makes a positive difference to the bottom line. […]
Online Platform Mercato Moves HQ From New York To San Diego
Online ordering and delivery platform Mercato moved its headquarters cross-country from New York City to San Diego, California. The company is a provider of an online ordering and delivery platform for independently owned grocery stores. The new Mercato headquarters are in the Downtown Works building on W. B Street in San Diego. The company said […]
Kroger Announces New Columbus And Dallas Division Presidents
Dana Zurcher, currently Dallas, Texas, division president, has been named president of The Kroger Co.’s Columbus, Ohio, division, effective May 1. She will be succeeded by Tom Schwilke, who joins Kroger with more than 35 years of retail leadership experience. Zurcher succeeds Dan De La Rosa, who was recently named president of the King Soopers division. She will […]
Gelson’s Slobom Elected Chair Of CGA Education Foundation Board
Gelson’s Markets Senior Director of Store Operations Jacquie Slobom has been elected chair of the California Grocers Association Education Foundation Board of Trustees. Slobom succeeds Brad Askeland of North State Grocery Inc., who had served as chair for three years. “I am honored to serve as the chair of the CGAEF Board of Trustees,” said […]
Renaissance Food Group Names St George VP-Business Development
Renaissance Food Group has hired industry veteran Kim St George as VP of business development. St George will work to develop a strategic plan to support existing business channels while focusing on new growth opportunities as they align with overall company goals and initiatives. Rancho Cordova, California-based Renaissance Food Group is a fresh food company […]
Rich Products Promotes Executives To Strategic Leadership Roles
Rich Products promoted and created new leadership roles for seven senior executives within the food company. The moves are part of the Buffalo, New York-based company’s long-term focus on growth, innovation and organizational excellence. “These talented individuals have risen through the ranks, collectively bringing a powerhouse of experience, thought leadership and passion to our organization. […]
Publix Board Member Elected, Retirees Recognized
During its annual meeting of stockholders on April 16, Publix stockholders elected Jennifer Jenkins to the Publix board of directors, and Barney Barnett, Jane Finley and Charlie Jenkins Jr. retired from the board. Barnett becomes vice chairman emeritus. “I’m excited to have Jennifer join the Publix family. She will be a valuable addition to our […]
GMDC Named Association Affiliate Of Retail Analytics Council
Retail industry trade association Global Market Development Center (GMDC) is now an association affiliate of the Retail Analytics Council. GMDC President and CEO Patrick Spear will represent GMDC for all RAC-related activities. “It’s an honor for GMDC to be an association affiliate for the Retail Analytics Council,” Spear said. “This is a significant opportunity for […]
Tierra Nueva Names Honorowski, Edwards Regional VPs
Miami-based coffee technology company Tierra Nueva has named two industry veterans as regional VPs. Steve Honorowski, named Southeast regional VP, and Keith Edwards, named Midwest regional VP, will focus on building the company’s business in grocery, convenience, drug and dollar stores. “Steve and Keith have solid track records of building brands, growing market share and […]
Zespri Operations Manager Jason Donaldson Dies At 46
Mr. Jason Donaldson, operations manager for the Americas for Zespri North America, died unexpectedly on March 22 while on a business trip overseas. He was 46. “We are devastated by the unexpected passing of a great colleague and friend,” said Ben Hughes, GM-Americas for Orange County, California-based Zespri. “Jason brought a contagious energy and enthusiasm to […]
Greg Pearson Appointed Pretzels Inc. CEO, Replacing Mann
Pretzels Inc. has appointed food industry veteran Greg Pearson CEO, replacing Chip Mann. Pearson has more than 18 years of professional experience in the food industry. Most recently, he served as head of marketing and prior to that was the VP/GM of private brands at Chewy.com. Before Chewy, Pearson served as the VP/GM of the […]
Kristyn Lawson Hired As SVP Sales At FiveStar Gourmet Foods
Kristyn Lawson has been hired as SVP of sales at FiveStar Gourmet Foods as part of the company’s expansion. Prior to joining FiveStar, Lawson previously served as VP of sales at Good Foods. While there she launched the Good Foods retail brand across North American retail channels. Lawson will report directly to FiveStar Gourmet Foods […]
Kroger Promotes Three SVPs, Shifts Division Presidents
The Kroger Co. has promoted several executives to support its Restock Kroger initiative and is relocating some of its division heads, including replacing the retiring Marlene Stewart in Houston, Texas. “We are making progress on redefining the customer experience, and our high-performing leaders are determined to maintain that momentum in year two of Restock Kroger […]
Ventura Foods Promotes Euser, Hires Noonburg-Morgan
Ventura Foods has promoted Andy Euser to the newly-created role of chief administrative officer and hired Erika Noonburg-Morgan as CFO. Euser has served as Ventura Foods’ chief human resources officer and EVP for the past nine years. Ventura Foods’ newly formed chief administrative office will include information technology, human resources and corporate communications. “In Andy, […]
AJG Packaging Prepares For Next Stage Growth With New QA Director
AJG Packaging, a provider of packaging delivery solutions, has appointed Gurprit Kaur as quality assurance director. “Thanks to recent growth that we expect to continue well into the foreseeable future, the timing was right to bring on a new member to our senior leadership team with the right industry experience and track record to direct […]
Campbell Soup Co. Makes Changes To Board Of Directors
The Campbell Soup Co. of Camden, New Jersey, has made known that Les C. Vinney will retire as chairman of the board and as a director. The board of directors has elected Keith McLoughlin to succeed Vinney as chairman. J.P. Bilbrey, former CEO of The Hershey Co., has been appointed to the board, and Sara […]
Boston Beer Hires Lesya Lysyj Chief Marketing Officer
The Boston Beer Co. Inc., brewers of Samuel Adams beers, has hired Lesya Lysyj as CMO. Lysyj will join the company in April and will be responsible for overseeing the company’s planning, development and execution of its brand development, marketing and advertising initiatives. She will lead brand management, innovation, digital and social marketing, media, consumer […]
