People on the Move: CDA, Delek US, Del Monte, Enmarket, Liquid Barcodes & McKee Foods
NATIONAL REPORT — Retailers, wholesalers and suppliers in the convenience store industry are only as good as their management teams and employees. In this special roundup, Convenience Store News runs down the most recent executive changes at the top in the industry.
Burroughs Inc.
Burroughs Inc. appointed Anson Martin as CEO. In this role, Martin is responsible for the strategic performance of the company. Martin joins Burroughs from the energy storage industry where he held a series of executive roles increasing in responsibility; general management, sales, business development and marketing for global enterprises.
Burroughs also appointed Ed Boyd as chief operations officer, a new role reporting directly to the CEO. Boyd had been serving as acting CEO.
Convenience Distribution Association
The Convenience Distribution Association (CDA) elected Scott Carrico, of Richmond Master Distributors in South Bend, Ind., CDA chair for 2020. Carrico, whose father Pat Carrico is a past-chair of the association, has been involved with CDA for many years, serving on the Education & Research Committee, as chair of both the Industry Affairs Committee and Finance Committee, and on the association's board of directors.
Currently, he also serves as president of the Indiana Wholesale Distributors Association and is vice president of the Illinois Association of Wholesale Distributors.
In addition, the association presented George Eversman, executive vice president, retail and business development for DOT Foods in Sterling, Ill., was presented with CDA's Dean of the Industry award.
Eversman joined DOT Foods in 1995 as foodservice marketing manager, heading up supplier relationships. He was promoted to regional sales manager for the southern region two years later, before taking on his current role in 1999.
Delek US Holdings Inc.
Blake Fernandez joined Delek US Holdings Inc. as senior vice president of Investor Relations and Market Intelligence.
He brings with him more than 20 years of experience in the financial arena, including 13 years of sell-side equity research. In his new role, Fernandez will partner closely with the chief financial officer and other key members of the senior leadership team. He is also responsible for leading the enterprise development of the corporate and business unit strategies, business planning, and supporting ideation and research on future growth initiatives by leveraging his deep understanding of environmental, competitive and economic trends, and customer needs.
Keith Johnson, vice president of Investor Relations, will play a continuing role in the newly expanded department.
In addition, Daryl Schofield joined Delek as executive vice president of business development. Schofield brings with him more than 35 years of experience in the energy industry, including having served in multiple senior executive positions at Murphy USA, Talisman Energy, Tesoro Corp. and BP.
Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. Inc.
Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. Inc. created a new internal team, a unified North America New Product Development team to better serve its consumers and integrate Mann Packing, a Del Monte Fresh company, into its ongoing product development processes.
As part of this change, Alex McCloskey, director of New Product Development at Mann Packing, will expand his role to oversee not only Mann's, but also Del Monte-branded products across North America. His team will be responsible for leading the innovation and new development processes for all Del Monte Fresh Produce brands on a national basis.
Del Monte also appointed Scott Owens to vice president of Sales & Product Management, N.A. In his new role, Owens will head the banana, pineapple and melon programs, overseeing a strong internal team focused on the core products of Del Monte Fresh Produce N.A. Inc. He previously held roles at Wonderful Citrus, Chiquita Brands International and General Mills.
Enmarket
Sean Fatzinger, director of foodservice operations for Enmarket, has been appointed to the board of trustees for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) Georgia Chapter. He joins a group of 18 fellow Trustees to provide strategic guidance, financial oversight, and fundraising assistance for the organization.
Fatzinger is a restaurant industry veteran with a background in operations, training, and franchising. With a background in industrial-organizational psychology, he made a name for himself opening concepts in non-traditional and international locations.
Imperial Brands
Rob Norris, head of Altadis U.S.A., transferred to Fontem Ventures as general manager of Canada. Altadis U.S.A. is a unit of Tabacalera USA, Imperial Brands' premium cigar division in the United States. Fontem Ventures is another, separate Imperial Brands company. With the Norris transfer, Paul Waller, head of sales for Altadis, and Oliver Hyams, head of trade marketing for Altadis, will report directly to Tabacalera USA's President and CEO Javier Estades.
Insite360
Anthony Rodriguez, senior business development, joined Insite360, a Veeder-Root company and global provider of fuel analytics, environmental compliance and logistics software. Rodriguez brings a wide skill set in business development, back-office ERP solutions, and fuel industry knowledge. He is a volunteer with several petroleum industry organizations and is the incoming chairman of the Wranglers Council for the Texas Food and Fuel Association.
Liquid Barcodes
The general assembly of Liquid Barcodes elected Bob Stein as chairman, effective Oct. 1. Stein joined the company's board in January 2018 and guided the firm's successful launch in the U.S. market.
An industry veteran, Stein previously served as president and CEO of Kalibrate Technologies (formerly KSS Fuels) as well as chairman, president and CEO of Dairy Mart Convenience Stores.
"I am extremely impressed with the innovative way that the Liquid Barcodes platform drives customer loyalty using the power of gamification across the entire customer connection cycle. No other technology I have seen offers such potential to drive customer loyalty for our industry, so it’s truly exciting for me to have this unique opportunity to support Liquid Barcodes and add value to convenience retailers worldwide," he said.
LSI Industries Inc.
LSI Industries Inc. expanded the ranks of its national sales team, naming John Bank as an additional national sales manager for Retail Accounts. He works directly with national brands and large retailers, focusing on graphics, décor and digital signage programs.
Bank will also work to grow lighting product sales, and advance LSI Industries' initiative to expand product offerings of smart tools, digital, and safety and security products to each of its distributors.
Prior to joining LSI Industries, he served for 15 years in senior sales positions in the sign industry with Parvin Clauss Sign Co., Jones Sign Co., Identity Group and Kieffer Signs.
McKee Foods
McKee Foods appointed John Williams as president of Prairie City Bakery LLC. He replaces co-founder Bill Skeens, who recently retired.
A 25-year veteran of the food industry, Williams most recently served as vice president of marketing and innovation at Prairie City Bakery, joining the Vernon Hills, Ill.-based company in 2009. During his 10-year tenure, Williams played a lead role in setting corporate strategy, developing and introducing new products, packaging and display design and acquiring and managing new suppliers. He also managed key corporate accounts.
He was also critical in the integration process with McKee Foods since it acquired Prairie City Bakery as a wholly owned subsidiary in May 2019.
Williams previously held leadership roles with several companies, including CSM, Unilever Food Solutions, MillerCoors and Solo Cup Co.
Standex Refrigerated Solutions Group
Standex Refrigerated Solutions Group named John Richardson was named vice president of finance for the Refrigerated Solutions Group effective. He reports directly to Kevin Fink, president of RSG.
In his new role, Richardson is responsible for all areas related to accounting, financial planning and analysis, financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, tax, month-end cycle and IT support. He was recently chief financial officer with Mitchell Cos. and prior to that he was vice president of finance for Serta Simmons Bedding Co.