Food & Food Equipment News

Papa Murphy’s Promotes Mark Hutchens to Chief Operating Officer

Papa Murphy’s Holdings, Inc. has promoted to the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the company, effective immediately.  Hutchens will continue in his role as Chief Financial Officer until a qualified replacement is found.   

Weldon Spangler, Chief Executive Officer of the company, stated, “Mark has been an integral leader in his time at Papa Murphy’s, demonstrating both financial and operational acumen and a strong affinity for the franchise business model. In addition to having a meaningful impact on the development of the company’s long-term strategy, Mark has driven several key business initiatives over the last year that have positioned the company for continued profitability and growth, including our first-quarter organizational realignment, recent company-store portfolio actions and the transition of our ecommerce platform to Olo.com. The board and I look forward to continuing to work closely with Mark and to his increasing contributions to our business and franchise-owners.”

Hutchens added, “We’ve taken aggressive steps in the last several months to reduce costs while also ensuring that the right resources are focused on the support of our owner-operators. Franchisee profitability is foundational to our success and will continue to be a top priority in my new role. I am excited to have the opportunity to work more closely with our talented operators and the teams at Papa Murphy’s who support them, while continuing to lead the financial functions of the company until a qualified successor is in place. Working together, I am confident that the company and our franchise-owners can turn the business around and help the Papa Murphy’s brand reach its full potential for our many stakeholders.”

Hutchens has served as the company’s Chief Financial Officer since January 2014 and was promoted to Executive Vice President in June of this year. Previously, Hutchens served as vice president, chief financial officer – International, for Bloomin’ Brands, Inc., where his responsibilities included finance, business development and supply chain management activities for Outback Steakhouse International. Prior to joining Bloomin’ Brands, he held a variety of leadership positions at Office Depot, Yum! Brands, PepsiCo’s KFC subsidiary and Ford Motor Company. Hutchens received his master of business administration degree from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.

Pei Wei Names New CMO

Pei Wei has named Brandon Solano Chief Marketing Officer after an extensive national search.

Solano, an award-winning marketing and brand development executive, has vast experience within the restaurant industry. He most recently served as CMO for Papa Murphy's Pizza, and held senior leadership positions with Wendy's and Domino's Pizza.

"I know firsthand Brandon's creativity, passion and ability to drive results through marketing strategies and brand development," said Pei Wei CEO J. Hedrick. "Brandon will be a key asset to the Pei Wei leadership team as we continue to build and deliver on our brand promise."

"I joined Pei Wei because I believe in the vision and leadership of the executive team who is fiercely committed to winning and puts people first," said Solano. "As a foodie, I love the brand and appreciate the unique space that Pei Wei occupies in the fast casual industry, particularly when it comes to Pei Wei's dedication to quality food and handcrafted care." 

In addition to his restaurant leadership experience, Solano experience marketing top brands including Hershey's, Kellogg's and Proctor & Gamble. He holds a bachelor's degree in public relations from Grand Valley State University and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame. 

Sysco Names Brian Todd Senior Vice President, Merchandising

Sysco Corporation has named Brian Todd as Senior Vice President, Merchandising, effective Aug. 1, 2017, following Bill Day’s decision to retire. Day will remain in his current position through July 31, 2017, and work closely with Todd and Sysco’s senior executive team to ensure an orderly transition of his responsibilities.  

“Bill has been a dedicated and impactful leader throughout his 34-year career with Sysco, playing a key role in the growth of our business and the development of our associates,” said Tom Bené, Sysco's President and Chief Operating Officer. “The contributions he has made are significant and long-lasting, and all of us at Sysco wish him the very best upon his retirement.”

Todd has served as Sysco’s vice president, operational merchandising, since 2016. He began his Sysco career in 1996 as a protein brand manager with SERCA Ontario, which was later acquired by Sysco, and progressed through several senior merchandising roles at Sysco Toronto. In 2003, he joined the Sysco Canada leadership team as director, merchandising, advancing to senior director and eventually vice president, merchandising and marketing, in 2009. In 2011, Todd was promoted to vice president, merchandising, at Sysco Corporate, with responsibility for the dairy, non-foods, frozen foods and chemical categories. He was named vice president, strategic sourcing and supplier partnership, in 2012.  

Todd holds a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Guelph with a major in hotel and food administration.

“With 21 years of experience at Sysco, Brian is exceptionally well positioned to step into the senior vice president of merchandising role,” said Bené. “His deep knowledge of the company and proven track record in both the U.S. and Canada are an asset to the company. I look forward to working closely with him in his new role.”

The Hershey Company Announces New Executive Team

The Hershey Company has announced the new executive leadership team that incoming President and CEO Michele Buck has chosen to lead the organization. The new team balances continuity in key positions through exceptional leaders from within the company and world-class talent from outside of Hershey. 

“Hershey is an innovative snacking leader with its number one market share in U.S. confection and increasing breadth across U.S. snacking,” said Buck. “I’m extremely confident in the individuals who will lead our organization as we delight our customers and consumers with innovation and news in the marketplace and strive to deliver leading sales growth and margins across the food industry. This is a great team, with a range of experiences, expertise and backgrounds to accelerate our innovation, execute with excellence, instill a commercial mindset in all we do, and inspire our remarkable employees to achieve our goals.” 

The following eight leaders will comprise Hershey’s new executive leadership team, effective March 1, unless otherwise noted: 

Todd Tillemans, President, U.S. – Tillemans will join Hershey on April 3 to lead the company's flagship U.S. business including core confection, its expanding portfolio across snacking, and its sales and go-to-market teams. Tillemans joins the company from Unilever, where he worked for more than 23 years. He has held multiple leadership positions, including leading Unilever’s skin care business in Europe and Russia, its personal care business in the United States, and most recently serving as President, Customer Development U.S. 

Steven Schiller, President, International – Schiller, currently President, China & Asia is named President, International.  He will continue to oversee the China and Asia markets and will assume responsibility for the Americas region, India and Europe, Middle-East, and Africa. 

Terry O’Day, Senior Vice President, Chief Product Supply and Technology Officer – O’Day, currently Chief Supply Chain Officer, will continue to oversee the company's supply chain organization and will assume responsibility for Hershey’s productivity, information technology and enterprise connectivity initiatives. 

In connection with these announcements, Chief Knowledge and Technology Officer Waheed Zaman will retire from the company effective March 31. 

The Hershey Company has undertaken a search for a Chief Growth Officer who will lead Hershey’s insights and analytics, strategy, marketing excellence functions, innovation, research and development, mergers and acquisitions and The Hershey Experience. The company has identified an external candidate who is expected to join the team this spring.  

Continuing in their roles are: 

• Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Patricia Little  
• Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Leslie Turner 
• Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Kevin Walling 
• Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Mike Wege 

“These appointments reaffirm our commitment to creating opportunities for remarkable people to grow within the company and to attracting world-class talent from outside of Hershey. On behalf of the board of directors and management, I would like to thank Waheed Zaman for his work over the past four years to advance our technology, data and analytics capabilities,” Buck said.

Quench Hires Theodore Hertz as Vice President of Product Management

Quench, a provider of filtered water coolers, ice machines, sparkling water dispensers, and coffee brewers for businesses across the U.S., has hired Theodore Hertz as Vice President of Product Management. In this role, Hertz will lead Quench's product management and supply chain operations, and will also serve as General Manager of Quench's Office Coffee Service.

"Ted is an industry veteran with deep experience in the areas of drinking water and office coffee services," said AquaVenture Holdings President and Quench CEO Tony Ibargüen. "We are excited to have him join us as we continue to grow our leadership team."

Hertz has held executive roles for several office drinking water companies over his nearly 30-year career, most recently with Haws Corporation, where he served as General Manager of Hydration Solutions, which includes the Brita® Hydration Station® products. Previously, Hertz had general management, operations, and sales and marketing responsibilities with Wissahickon Spring Water, Inc. and Deep Rock Water Company.

About Quench:

Quench USA, Inc. offers Water-as-a-Service™ solutions by providing filtered water systems, including bottleless water coolers, ice machines, sparkling water dispensers, and coffee brewers, to customers across the United States. These point-of-use (POU) systems purify a building's existing water supply to provide reliable and convenient filtered water to a broad mix of businesses, including government, education, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, and other large commercial customers, including more than half of the Fortune 500. Headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, Quench has sales and service operations across the U.S. 

Washington DC's Sea Catch Restaurant & Raw Bar Hooks a New Chef

The Sea Catch Restaurant & Raw Bar, located in Washington's historic Georgetown area, has named Steven Rosenthal as its new Executive Chef. The restaurant is also unveiling a revamped menu. 

 

“We are happy to be making some changes and we believe our patrons are going to love them,” explains Ryan Fichter, General Manager of Sea Catch Restaurant & Raw Bar. “Our new chef embodies our mission of offering people dishes made with the freshest ingredients, and locally sourced whenever possible. Plus, he’s an expert seafood chef whose unique dishes are unrivaled.”

Steven Rosenthal, the new chef at the Sea Catch Restaurant & Raw Bar, comes to the kitchen with a wealth of experience and culinary integrity. Having been educated at Le Cordon Bleu, he has traveled through Italy, France, and England, where he enhanced his culinary skills. He has also worked at fine restaurants in Boston, Las Vegas, and Washington D.C., with his most recent experience being at Old Ebbitt Grill. Known for his commitment to cooking from scratch, Chef Rosenthal’s signature dishes include dorade, conch fritters, and seafood cioppino (a dish that includes shrimp, salmon, sea bass, swordfish, clams, mussels, potatoes, fennel, tomato, cream, fish brodo).

“I’m excited to bring my culinary experience and skills to Sea Catch Restaurant, where I can give people the opportunity to experience an array of seafood delights,” says Rosenthal. “Until people have tried some of my famous seafood dishes, they have no idea what they are missing out on. Many people say they are in a class all by themselves.”

The Sea Catch Restaurant & Raw Bar has the exclusive rights on two types of oysters, the wild cats and fat babies, making the restaurant the only place where they can be found. The newly revamped menu offers such options as:

• Lunch menu: oysters and clams, tuna tartare, salmon tartare, soup of the day, New England clam chowder, Prince Edward Island mussels, fried calamari, crab cakes, lobster frittata, seafood cioppino, fish & chips, salads, stuffed shells, and a variety of fresh catch fish, including Chilean sea bass, rockfish, rainbow trout, salmon, ahi tuna, swordfish, and more. There are also sandwiches, including a Maine lobster roll, crab cake sandwich, salmon BLT, cheeseburger, and steak sandwich.
• Dinner menu: a variety of raw bar specialties, soup, Maine lobster tail, fried calamari, James River fried oysters, oysters Rockefeller, conch fritters, crab cakes, salads, a variety of fresh catch fish, including Chilean sea bass, rockfish, rainbow trout, salmon, ahi tuna, swordfish, and more. The extensive entrée menu includes dorade (Mediterranean whole fish), king crab legs, seared scallops, seafood linguine, ahi tuna, cheeseburger, grilled swordfish, Chesapeake jumbo lump crab cakes, fish & chips, stuffed shells, prime rib, whole Maine lobster, classic Maine lobster roll, lobster risotto, and lobster mac & cheese.

“Our new menu retains some of our fan favorites, but we have broadened our horizons to offer some new unique options for people to try,” added Fichter. “One taste and people will fall in love with some of these dishes, especially the chef’s signature dishes.”

The new menu also includes a full cocktail menu, as well as a happy hour menu, offering discounted specials Monday-Friday from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m., including $1 oysters. The restaurant has been a hot spot for those in business and politics for years, with politicians frequently dining there. They offer seasonal menus, locally sourced seafood, an extensive raw bar menu, seasonal outdoor dining, and an indoor historic stone fireplace for cold evenings. The continued effort toward excellence helps people “Get hooked on Sea Catch!”

 

Michele Buck Appointed President and CEO of The Hershey Company

The Hershey Company's board of directors has appointed Michele Buck, currently the company’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, as Hershey’s next President and Chief Executive Officer effective March 1, 2017. She will succeed John P. Bilbrey, who previously announced his intention to retire from the company. Bilbrey will continue as Non-Executive Chairman of Hershey’s Board of Directors following his retirement as President and CEO.

“Michele is a proven leader who, during 11 years at Hershey and more than 25 years as an executive in the consumer packaged goods industry, has a demonstrated track record of building brands consumers love while bringing out the best in employees amid a rapidly changing business environment,” said Bilbrey. “She has consistently displayed a keen sense for how to grow our iconic brands. The unanimous vote by the board is a testament to the confidence we have in Michele as the next leader of this great company,” he said.

“As the board contemplated the right strategic leader for the next great chapter in Hershey’s history, it quickly became apparent that Michele offered the right mix of outstanding vision and proven execution to continue taking our company forward,” said Pamela Arway, Chair of the Governance Committee of Hershey’s Board of Directors and chair of the board’s special committee overseeing the CEO succession process.

Since joining the company in 2005, Buck has spearheaded the development and execution of many successful growth initiatives and strategic shifts at the company, most notably Hershey’s substantial growth in its core confection portfolio as it moved from a supply- to demand-driven business model. She was the architect of the company’s strategy to expand into broader snacking categories and oversaw the acquisitions of KRAVE and barkThins brands. She is a proven people leader and a champion of the Hershey culture through her ability to inspire, develop and connect with employees and customers.

“Hershey is an incredibly special company with a rich 120-year history of bringing goodness to the world,” Buck said. “I am honored to be chosen as the next leader of this innovative and pioneering business. The opportunity ahead for Hershey is tremendous, and to take advantage of it will require a clear focus on meeting the evolving needs of consumers while moving quickly to stay ahead of the trends shaping our business,” she said.

“I look forward to working closely with our board and the entire Hershey team to further our vision for 2017 and beyond,” continued Buck. “I also would like to thank JP for his leadership, mentorship and friendship over the last several years. It is an honor to be succeeding him as CEO and I look forward to his continued guidance as chairman of our board.”

Panera Bread Names Blaine Hurst President

Panera Bread Company has named company veteran Blaine Hurst President effective Monday, December 12, 2016, following the resignation of Drew Madsen for personal reasons. Hurst has been with Panera since 2010 and has held a number of senior leadership positions, most recently as Executive Vice President – Chief Transformation and Growth Officer. He has been the driving force behind Panera’s biggest growth initiatives in the past few years, including delivery, catering and the evolution of Panera’s digital capabilities.

In his new role, Hurst will drive innovation in the retail cafe business. He will continue to report to Ron Shaich, Panera’s Chairman and CEO. “Blaine has been instrumental in our multiyear efforts to transform Panera into a better competitive alternative with expanded growth opportunities,” Shaich said. “Blaine is well known and respected within the restaurant industry and the Panera family. Both colleagues and franchisees value his innovative thinking, the strength of the teams he’s built and his ability to drive transformative change.”

Hurst joined Panera in 2010 to work on the development of Panera 2.0. He was named Executive Vice President of Technology and Transformation in May 2013, and EVP – Chief Transformation and Growth Officer in October 2014. During his multiyear tenure at Panera, Hurst has been, at various times, the senior executive responsible for oversight of a range of functions, including manufacturing, supply chain, information technology, digital, human resources and consumer packaged goods. He has also successfully led major innovation projects impacting the retail cafe business.

Earlier in his career, Hurst was Vice Chairman and President at Papa John’s International Inc.; President – Restaurant Technology Solutions at eMac Digital LLC, an enterprise backed by McDonald’s, Accel Partners and KKR & Co.; and Vice President – Information Services at Boston Chicken. He has also been both an entrepreneur and independent consultant, assisting many restaurant, retail and distribution companies in their development and growth.

Paul Macaluso Promoted to Brand President of McAlister's Deli

FOCUS Brands® has promoted Paul Macaluso to President of fast casual chain McAlister's Deli®. The chain was recently ranked as one of consumers' favorite chains by Restaurant Business.

"By leveraging his extensive restaurant experience, keen consumer insights knowledge and strategic marketing and operating skills, Paul will continue to identify and execute against key growth drivers for McAlister's. I am confident he will provide leadership to our franchisees and drive continued brand performance in this industry leading concept," said FOCUS Brands President, North America, Paul Damico.

Macaluso's background includes more than 20 years of operations, franchising and marketing experience with some of the most prominent brands in the foodservice industry, including Taco Bell, Burger King, and Sonic Drive-In. Since joining FOCUS Brands in 2011 as Vice President of Marketing for Moe's Southwest Grill®, Paul has successfully grown into several significant roles within the organization, effectively developing and executing new branding, advancing consumer insights deployment, leading high functioning teams and identifying notable sales driving innovations that have helped the brands continue to deliver superior results.

Most recently, as Senior Vice President of Brand Marketing Strategy, Paul led the collective marketing capabilities for all six brands that are a part of FOCUS Brands; developing long term, consumer-driven, strategic planning processes, creating a marketing center of excellence for creative, social media and public relations and playing an instrumental role in developing a digital road map across the enterprise.

 

The Original Cakerie Names Paul Lapadat as CEO of Newly Formed Holding Company

The Original Cakerie, which makes high-quality frozen desserts for retail and foodservice customers across North America, has named Paul J. Lapadat as Chief Executive Officer of a new holding company established to accelerate growth. Lapadat, a longtime executive with deep experience leading both consumer product conglomerates and specialty food companies, succeeds Dave Hood, who was CEO of The Original Cakerie for more than 20 years. Hood will become an advisor to the board of directors of The Original Cakerie.

Concurrently, The Original Cakerie announced it has restructured its business under a holding company known as Desserts Holdings, based in St. Paul, Minnesota. Desserts Holdings will allow a shared services model and integrated selling organization between The Original Cakerie and Lawler Foods to better serve current and prospective customers. Both The Original Cakerie and Lawler Foods are portfolio companies of Gryphon Investors, a San Francisco-based middle market private equity firm.

Read more at GourmetNews.com.