Orlando, FL – Today, FMI – The Food Industry Association announced its 2023 Board of Directors elected at the association’s annual Midwinter Executive Conference in Orlando. The new slate will guide the implementation of FMI’s 2023-approved strategic plan during a time of rapidly evolving industry challenges and opportunities and reflects the breadth of the product supplier and retailer/wholesaler communities. The outgoing Board officers, first elected in 2020, agreed last year to continue serving in order to provide continuity to the association amid ongoing supply chain and inflation challenges.
FMI President and CEO Leslie G. Sarasin stated, “The entire food industry – from product suppliers to retailers and wholesalers – takes great pride in carrying out our mission to feed families and enrich lives. Recent years have brought tremendous challenges to keep our businesses operational, maintain the health of our associates and provide our customers with the products they need to thrive.”
Sarasin continued, “FMI is incredibly grateful to our outgoing Directors under the leadership of our immediate past chairman Randy Edeker for guiding our industry through these difficult times, seizing opportunities to better position our industry for success and meeting this historic moment with a profound spirit of commitment to our industry peers and our customers. We look forward to continuing to build on these successes with incoming chairman Brian George at the helm and our slate of new Directors in the year ahead.”
Incoming FMI Chairman and Alex Lee, Inc., President, Chairman and CEO Brian George said, “Coming off the disruption of the last three years, the food industry is at a pivotal point where both challenge and opportunity meet. We strive to deepen our industry knowledge through education, strengthen our industry partnerships through collaboration and encourage policies that cultivate a flourishing business environment through advocacy efforts in Washington. I’m incredibly honored by the trust my industry peers and colleagues have placed in me as FMI’s incoming chairman at this critical juncture as we collectively work to fulfill our mission to feed the American people.”
New Officers (2-year term):
- Chairman, Brian George, Alex Lee, Inc., Hickory, NC
- President and CEO, Leslie G. Sarasin, FMI, Arlington, VA
- Immediate Past Chairman, Randy Edeker, Hy-Vee, Inc., West Des Moines, IA
- Vice Chairman, Communications: Tony Sarsam, SpartanNash Company, Grand Rapids, MI
- Vice Chairman, Finance: Oscar Gonzalez, Northgate Gonzalez Market, Anaheim, CA
- Vice Chairman, Food Safety: Joe Colalillo, ShopRite of Hunterdon County, Flemington, NJ
- Vice Chairman, Independent Operators: John Najjar, Seaside Market, Inc., Cardiff by the Sea, CA
- Vice Chairman, Industry Relations: Susan Morris, Albertsons Companies, Boise, ID
- Vice Chairman, Member Services: Lisa Roath, Target Corporation, Minneapolis, MN
- Vice Chairman, Product Supplier: Twyla Bailey, Mondelez International, The Woodlands, TX
- Vice Chairman, Public Affairs: Reynolds Cramer, Fareway Stores, Inc., Boone, IA
- Vice Chairman, Wholesaler: Sandy Douglas, UNFI, Providence, RI
Directors (3-year term):
- David Ball, Ball's Price Chopper/Hen House Markets, Kansas City, KS
- John Bagan, Gelson's Markets, Encino, CA
- Brandon Barnholt, KeHE Distributors, Naperville, IL
- Craig Boyan, H-E-B, San Antonio, TX
- Michael Bozzuto, Bozzuto's Inc., Cheshire, CT
- Chris Coborn, Coborn's, Inc., St. Cloud, MN
- Charles D'Amour, Big Y Foods, Inc., Springfield, MA
- Tim Devanney, Highland Park Market, Inc., Manchester, CT
- Chris Foley, Campbell Soup Company, Camden, NJ
- Tony Gavin, Bimbo Bakeries USA, Horsham, PA
- Jerry Golub, Northeast Grocery, Schenectady, NY
- Shane Grant, Danone North America, White Plains, NY
- Kevin Holt, Ahold Delhaize USA, Quincy, MA
- Dean Janeway, Key Food Stores Co-operative, Inc., Matawan, NJ
- Todd Jones, Publix Super Markets, Inc., Lakeland, FL
- Matthew Jonna, Plum Market, Farmington Hills, MI
- Laura Shapira Karet, Giant Eagle, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA
- Noah Katz, PSK Supermarkets, Mount Vernon, NY
- Norman Mayne, Dorothy Lane Market, Inc., Dayton, OH
- Sean McMenamin, McMenamin Family ShopRite, Philadelphia, PA
- David Mitchell, Mitchell Grocery Corporation, Albertville, AL
- Michael Needler, Jr., Fresh Encounter, Inc., Findlay, OH
- Cory Onell, The Kraft Heinz Company, Chicago, IL
- Bob Palmer, C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc., Keene, NH
- Arthur Potash, Potash Markets, Chicago, IL
- Michael Potthoff, Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC, Belleair Beach, FL
- Jason Potter, The Fresh Market, Greensboro, NC
- Steve Presley, Nestlé USA, Inc., Arlington, VA
- Patrick Raybould, B&R Stores, Inc., Lincoln, NE
- David Rice, Associated Food Stores, Inc., Salt Lake City, UT
- Melody Richard, Walmart US, Bentonville, AR
- Brian Sappington, The Coca-Cola Company, Atlanta, GA
- Joe Sheridan, Wakefern Food Corp., Keasbey, NJ
- Jack Sinclair, Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc., Phoenix, AZ
- Carlos Smith, Chedraui USA, Paramount, CA
- David Smith, Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc., Kansas City, KS
- Steven Smith, K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc., Abingdon, VA
- Mark Smucker, The J.M. Smucker Company, Orville, OH
- Mike Stone, Mollie Stone's Markets, Mill Valley, CA
- Terry Thomas, Unilever, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
- Russ Torres, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Neenah, WI
- Tobias Wasmuht, SPAR International, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Lauri Youngquist, Knowlan's Super Markets, Inc., Vadnais Heights, MN
Chairman’s Appointees (2-year term)
- Tim Figge, Hussmann Corporation, Bridgeton, MO
- Don Fitzgerald, Dom’s Kitchen and Market, Chicago, IL
- Ari Labell, The Hain Celestial Group Inc., Lake Success, NY
- Patrick Meehan, Irresistible Foods Group, Inc., Gardena, CA
- Oli Morton, Kellogg Company, Battle Creek, MI
- Jon Nudi, General Mills, Inc., Golden Valley, MN
- David Parry, accelerate 360 LLC, Smyrna, GA
- John Ross, IGA, Inc., Chicago, IL
- Randy Skoda, Topco Associates LLC, Elk Grove Village, IL
A full member listing of FMI’s leadership can be found here.
To review a video summarizing FMI 2022 accomplishments, visit http://www.FMI.org/YearInReview.
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