2017 Wff Board To Lead Food Industry In Cultivating Women Leaders

DALLAS - Feb. 15, 2017 - PRLog -- The Women's Foodservice Forum (WFF) has announced its 2017 board Chair, Chair-Elect, Treasurer, Executive Committee and Board members who all represent global brands committed to supporting the advancement of women and providing a platform that paves the way for the next generation of women leaders.

WFF is the food industry's premier leadership development organization whose mission is to advance women to the C-suite and on to the boards of companies operating in the food industry ecosystem, the second largest private industry in the United States. Statistics prove that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity and inclusion are 15% more likely to have financial returns above the national median for their industry.

NEW EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE LEADERS:

WFF Board Chair

Marie Perry, EVP, Chief Administrative & Financial Officer, Jamba, Inc. hasbeen elected WFF Board Chair to lead the organization's Board of Directors and help the organization achieve its 2017 strategic goals. In her current role at Jamba, Perry leads the Finance, Accounting, Investor Relations, Legal and Human Resources functions of the organization.

WFF Chair-Elect

A board member since 2011, Susan Adzick will serve as the 2017 WFF Chair-Elect, putting her in succession to serve as Chair in 2018.  Susan Adzick is the VP, Sales & Marketing, McLane Company, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. In this role, she provides strategic direction for the foodservice segment. Working across all departments within McLane, Adzick leverages the strengths of the organization to develop optimal supply chain solutions for current and prospective customers.

WFF Treasurer

Denny Marie Post, CEO, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews, leads the overall company direction and oversees all of Red Robin's activities, including communications with investors and the board of directors. Post has more than 30 years of leadership experience in consumer-driven marketing, product innovation and building teams to develop and execute on strategies that increase brand awareness and drive sales.

NEW WFF BOARD MEMBERS:

·         Doug Allison, Industry Relations, PepsiCo Foodservice

o    For over 31 years, Doug has managed numerous facets of the Foodservice business for PepsiCo.  These responsibilities have included the day to day management of the foodservice bottling operations in east Tennessee, to directing some of PepsiCo's largest restaurant customers, including the KFC business, which then led to the marketing management responsibility for PepsiCo on YUM! Brands until 2000.

·         Rob Dugas, Chief Procurement Officer, VP, Chick-Fil-A

o    Rob Dugas serves Chick-fil-A by overseeing the business functions which are responsible for providing trusted supply for over 2000 restaurants in the United States and Canada.  That responsibility includes ensuring product integrity, competitive cost, and a reliable distribution network to maintain continuous supply for the highest volume quick service restaurant concept in the country.

·         Ryan Elwart, SVP & General Sales Manager-Global, Georgia-Pacific

o    Ryan Elwart is responsible for North American and International GP PRO sales, sales strategy, and customer capability teams for Georgia-Pacific.  He has been at Georgia Pacific since 2008, where he was also responsible for GP PRO channel sales and channel development capabilities which included insights and channel marketing, category management, and joint business planning.

·         Barbara Polk, Chief Administrative Officer, National Restaurant Association

o    Barbara Polk is the Chief Administrative Officer for the National Restaurant Association. In this position, she has overall strategic responsibility for Information Technology, Legal, Human Resources, Internal Communications, Board Operations and Facilities/Office Services.

·         Chris Roberts, President, Cargill Foodservice North America

o    Chris Roberts is President of the $6 billion North American Foodservice Division of Cargill's protein group. In his role, Mr. Roberts, is responsible for business strategy, mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships, the product portfolio, operations and finance.

·         Karen Williams, VP, Strategic Operations Implementation, DineEquity, Inc.

o    An almost 20 year foodservice veteran, Karen Williams currently leads strategic initiatives focused on increasing sales and profitability as Vice President, Strategic Operations Implementation for DineEquity, Inc., parent of Applebee's Grill and Bar and IHOP. She leverages her expertise in innovation and execution to drive cross functional efforts that include menu and campaign testing and implementation, margin enhancement and long term strategic initiatives.

All new WFF Board members will serve two successive, three-year terms beginning Jan. 1, 2017 and ending Dec. 31, 2022. These new Board members will join the WFF Executive Committee and returning Board members.

WFF 2017 Executive Committee Leaders (Complete list)

·         Chair – Marie Perry, EVP, Chief Administrative & Financial Officer, Jamba, Inc.

·         CEO – Hattie Hill, President & CEO, WFF

·         Chair-Elect – Susan Adzick, VP, Sales & Marketing, McLane Company, Inc.

·         Treasurer – Denny Marie Post, CEO, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and      Brews

Members-At-Large:

·   Tom Bené, President & COO, Sysco Corporation

·   Karen Bowman, Principal & Industry Leader, Deloitte Consulting, LLP

·  Kathleen Ciaramello, President, National Foodservice & On-Premise, The Coca-Cola Company

·   Michael Hickey, EVP & President, Global Institutional, Ecolab

WFF 2017 Board of Directors (Complete List)

·     Doug Allison, Industry Relations, PepsiCo Foodservice

·     Jill Bond, SVP, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, Rich Products Corporation

·     Beverly Carmichael, SVP, Chief People Officer, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.

·     Wendy Davidson, President, U.S. Specialty Channels, Kellogg Company – Immediate Past Chair, WFF

·     Rob Dugas, Chief Procurement Officer & VP, Chick-Fil-A

·     Stephen Dunmore, CEO of Schools, North America, Sodexo, Inc.

·     Ryan Elwart, SVP & General Sales Manager-Global, Georgia-Pacific

·     Julie Juvera, VP, People & Field Operations, California Pizza Kitchen

·     Fred Paglia, President, Foodservice and Liquid Beverage, Kerry

·     Barbara Polk, Chief Administrative Officer, National Restaurant Association

·     Chris Roberts, President, Cargill Foodservice North America

·     Salli Setta, President, Red Lobster

·     Debbie Stroud, VP & GM Raleigh Region, McDonald's USA, LLC.

·     Rebecca Walsh, EVP, Chief Legal & Compliance Officer, Ventura Foods

·     Karen Williams, VP, Strategic Operations Implementation, DineEquity, Inc.

·     Rossann Williams, SVP & President Canada, Starbucks Coffee Company

Dropbox with images of Executive Committee and Board of Directors
Images Courtesy of WFF
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xdbr6zia4fyf6x2/AADFn0YWWSZQToy2WOSJbBnta?dl=0