it has elected Robert Ingle II to succeed his father, Robert P. Ingle, the founder of the company, as chairman. The elder Ingle will remain chief executive officer and chairman of the executive committee of the board of directors. The younger Ingle has been vice president of operations at the company, which operates 197 supermarkets in the Southeast, since 1996. He has served on the board since 1997.
WASHINGTON -- Food Marketing Institute here has hired Debbie Gann to be director of research. Gann will be responsible for developing, implementing and directing FMI's research strategy through assorted projects, programs and studies. "We are very excited to have Debbie join the FMI team," said Michael Sansolo, senior vice president, FMI. "She promises to bring great energy and new ideas to FMI's important research projects." Gann has more than 25 years of experience in research. She served as co-director of marketing research for the Nasdaq Stock Market, was director of market research for Equitable Life Insurance, served as senior research advisor at AARP, and was a senior research director for Response Analysis Corp., a research vendor.
LOS ANGELES -- Smart & Final last week named Etienne Snollaerts president and chief executive officer as part of a previously disclosed succession plan. He succeeds Ross E. Roeder, who remains chairman. Also, Smart & Final named Steven Watson to its board of directors and its audit committee. Watson was the chairman and CEO of the department store division of Target Corp., Minneapolis, from 1985 to 1996, and was president of outdoor-products retailer Gander Mountain, also based in Minneapolis, from 1997 until his retirement in 2002.
Encino, Calif. -- Gelson's Markets here has selected Donna Tyndall to be senior vice president, operations. She will supervise all store operations and distribution, and will report directly to Robert Stiles, president of the company. Tyndall has worked for Gelson's for more than 30 years, starting in 1973 as a clerks' helper. She worked her way up to store director, then operations supervisor. Tyndall later transitioned to the buying department, and over a course of 12 years, took on additional responsibilities that included advertising, merchandising and distribution. Just prior to her most recent promotion, Tyndall was senior vice president of grocery purchasing and advertising.