The New England Produce Council Inc. announced Oct. 18 a number of changes to its board of directors.

Three new board members have been elected: Craig Minichiello of Market Basket; Corrine Barry, national accounts manager of Dole Fresh Vegetables; and Keith Frosceno of Big Y. In addition, the board has appointed Lauren Mordasky, business development manager at RPE Inc., as the council's first brand development manager, focusing on the NEPC social media platforms and leadership program.

Three board members are leaving the board. "After serving the New England Produce Council Inc. for

The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas Pillar of the Industry recognition award highlights accomplishments for a member who has exhibited a history of volunteering time, effort and impactful contributions to support the association and the fresh produce industry. This year, the FPAA named Bill Sykes, founder and vice president of The Sykes Co., as the 2022 recipient.

With 48 years of experience, Sykes is considered a seasoned produce industry veteran among his peers. He founded The Sykes Co. in 1978 and throughout his career has been active in the industry, including chairman and vice

The Idaho Potato Commission recently announced the addition of Sam Eaton as the new vice president of legal and government affairs. Additionally, industry veteran Travis Blacker was promoted to vice president of industry relations and research, and Ross Johnson has been promoted to vice president of retail and international.

Eaton is the former director of policy and counsel for Gov. Brad Little of Idaho will primarily manage the IPC’s government affairs at the federal, state and local levels, direct the IPC’s trademark licensing, and provide legal and regulatory advice to the commission.

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Ivonne Alanis will join the Potandon Produce sales team as regional sales manager, working remotely where she lives in Houston, TX.

"We are so pleased to have Ivonne join our team," said Glen Reynolds, Potandon's vice president of variety sales and business development. "She brings a very creative attitude and fresh marketing ideas to our team, along with a complete CPG marketing understanding. While we are still aligning key customer accounts, she will hit the ground running and bring great value to our customer base."

Potandon manages a nationwide network of growing and packing operations

SpartanNash announced the promotion of Masiar Tayebi to executive vice president, chief strategy and information officer. Tayebi was hired in April 2021 as executive vice president, chief strategy officer.

"SpartanNash is more focused than ever on being the most customer-focused, innovative food solutions company," said SpartanNash CEO Tony Sarsam. "Our innovation through technology goes hand-in-hand with the overall strategy of the Company, making Masiar a natural leader for the IT function moving forward. He brings more than two decades of experience connecting strategy, technology

Church Brothers has hired Gurjit Shergill as its vice president of food safety, quality and regulatory compliance. Shergill has more than 20 years of experience in food safety and technical services, most recently for Earthbound Farms as vice president of food safety and quality.

Shergill has also held related positions with AeroFarms, The Acheson Group and Taylor Farms for the retail foodservice and deli division. Shergill started her career in the United Kingdom with major food manufacturers and then ran her own food and beverage consultancy group prior to moving to the U.S. to work for