April appointments in the dairy industry

By Mary Ellen Shoup and Jim Cornall

01-May-2017 - Last updated on 15-May-2017 at 15:02 GMT

Several new appointments were announced in the dairy industry in April. Pic:© iStock:_human/JackF

Related tags Management occupations

DairyReporter presents its monthly round-up of new appointments from the dairy industry.

If you have any appointments to announce, please send them to us here, along with a photo.

New CEO for Danone Romania

Natalia Gelshtein-Kiss has been appointed CEO of Danone Romania, Bulgaria and the Adriatic.

Gelshtein-Kiss replaces Adrian Pascu, recently promoted to vice president commercial Danone Russia, dairy division.

Gelshtein-Kiss has extensive experience in various positions within Danone since 2003. Last year she simultaneously held the positions of director of the Moscow City unit, and regional sales director for Moscow, and was director of sales in Ukraine and Czechia for a period of seven years.

Nexus announces CEO

A new CEO has been announced at Nexus A/S, the independent research and innovation center whose discoveries lead to the emulsifiers and stabilizers of Danish-based ingredients company Palsgaard A/S.

Nexus CEO Viggo Norn, who has led the company for over 25 years, will officially be replaced by Claus Hviid Christensen.

Educated as a chemist, Claus has experience both as a senior executive in large and small technology enterprises, and as a full professor in a lengthy and international academic career

New appointments at Albalact

Albalact Romania, part of the Lactalis group, has announced Giampaolo Manzonetto as its new general manager.

Manzonetto, who also serves as general manager of Lactalis Romania and Parmalat Romania, will now run the entire business of Lactalis Group in Romania.

Manzonetto started his management career in the Parmalat team in Russia in 1998, and since 2003 has been working in Romania, where he became general manager of Parmalat in 2007. In 2014, he took over management of Lactalis Romania, Dorna and Parmalat.

Irina Măndoiu, commercial manager of Albalact, takes over the position of deputy general manager of Albalact and shall run the businesses of the company.

She has been working at Albalact since 2005, when she started as trade marketing manager.

Albalact, which has a history of more than 40 years in the Romanian dairy industry, joined Lactalis Group in September 2016.

Kerry Group’s taste and nutrition division appoints new president and CEO of Europe

Kerry Group’s taste and nutrition division has announced the appointment of Malcom Sheil as president and CEO of its business in Europe.

Sheil joined Kerry as a graduate accountant from Dublin City University in 1988. He spent three years in the US as plant controller and corporate commercial controller, before his promotion to finance director for Kerry Mexico and then to finance director for Kerry South America in 1998.

In 2003, he was appointed president of Kerry’s LATAM business and served in that role for 13 years.

Leader of new DanoneWave unit chosen

In Danone’s Q1 financial results issued this month, a new North American strategic business unit, DanoneWave was created, in the wake of Danone’s takeover of WhiteWave.

Blaine McPeak, WhiteWave’s former chief operating officer (COO), has been appointed COO of DanoneWave effective as of the closing date.

McPeak will be responsible for the business operations, building, commercializing and implementing the strategic growth plans of the new entity.

DanoneWave appoints thought leaders to head new advisory committee

DanoneWave has also formed an external advisory committee and appointed Patagonia CEO, Rose Marcario, as the head chair.

Other advisory committee members, each appointed to a three-year term, are: Michelle Goolsby, venture partner of Greenmont Capital Partners and board chair of Vitamin Angels; Mac Macartney, author, speaker and change-maker; Simin Meydani, D.V.M., Ph. D., Vice Provost for Research, Tufts University; Emeran Mayer, MD, PhD, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; and Marcello Palazzi of B-Lab Europe.

Toray Plastics selects leadership for Torayfan Division

Toray Plastics (America), manufacturer of flexible lidding film for the dairy industry, has promoted Christopher Roy to senior vice president and general manager of the Torayfan Division.

The company also named John Eustis as the new vice president of engineering and procurement.

Roy joined Toray in 1998 and has held several positions, including director of national sales, director of sales and marketing, senior director of sales and marketing, and general manager.

Prior to joining Toray, Roy launched his career in the plastics industry working in the injection molding segment for seven years as a vice president.

Eustis was appointed senior director of procurement and logistics in 2010. In 2014 Eustis also assumed responsibility for leading the company’s engineering team.

He joined Toray in 2008 after working at Pearson Composites, where he was a vice president. Eustis holds a B.S. in Materials Engineering from Brown University and an M.S. in Management and an M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from MIT.

Midwest dairy elects new leadership

Allen Merrill, a dairy farmer from Parker, South Dakota, is the new chairman of Midwest Dairy Association, elected during the organization’s annual meeting held in conjunction with the Western Dairy Forum in Phoenix, Arizona. Merrill previously served as first vice chairman. He replaces Jerry Messer of Richardton, North Dakota, who stepped down after serving as chairman for nine years.

New members of the Corporate board officer team are Charles Krause, Buffalo, Minnesota, first vice chairman; and Lowell Mueller, Hooper, Nebraska, secretary. Bill Siebenborn, Trenton, Missouri, was re-elected second vice chairman while Dan Grunhovd, Gary, Minnesota, was re-elected treasurer.