C&S Wholesale, SpartanNash CEOs among FMI’s new board members

FMI -The Food Industry Association has named five new grocery retailer and wholesaler executives and two manufacturer executives to its board of directors.

In a virtual board meeting yesterday, C&S Wholesale Grocers CEO Bob Palmer and SpartanNash President and CEO Tony Sarsam were appointed as new wholesale members. Both were recently named as the chief executives at their respective distribution companies, with Palmer taking the reins in October and Sarsam assuming his new post in September.

Joining the FMI board from the retail side were John Laney, senior vice president and  general merchandise manager for packaged goods at Walmart; Lisa Roath, senior vice president of merchandising for food and beverage at Target; and Tim Devanney, co-president of Connecticut grocer Highland Park Market.

FMI also announced Shane Grant, executive vice president and CEO at Danone North America, and Tony Gavin, executive vice president at Bimbo Bakeries USA as new product supplier board members, of which the association tallied 13 in 2020.

The FMI board is chaired by Randy Edeker, chairman, president and CEO of Hy-Vee.

“I am grateful for the imaginative leadership, the courageous perseverance and the care our companies have displayed throughout this national crisis,” FMI President and CEO Leslie Sarasin said in a statement. “Over the last eight months, our board leaders have had an opportunity to convene for productive, non-competitive dialogue on everything from public policy matters to food and product safety concerns, and of course supply chain issues  ultimately keeping this nation fed and cared for during these demanding times.”

This year also has seen FMI recruit 12 new retail members to the association. In her president’s report to the board, Sarasin noted that FMI continues to re-evaluate member expectations and how industry participants want to engage with the association, in line with its mission to “advocate, collaborate and educate” and support the food industry’s efforts to “feed families and enrich lives.”

Related:FMI honors grocery retailers with 2020 Community Outreach awards

New retail members include Bodega Latina, Cantoro Italian Market, Dom’s Kitchen and Market, Fresh Farms Market, Good Ranchers, Jackson Mitchell Holdings, Plum Market, Ranchr, Salt & Light, Sprouts Farmers Market, The Fresh Market and Zupan’s Markets. 

In recent months, companies have joined FMI as new product supplier members include Anheuser-Busch, Bimbo Bakeries USA, Campbell Soup, Kimberly-Clark, Mondelez International, Nestlé USA, PepsiCo, Pictsweet, Coca-Cola, J.M. Smucker, Treehouse Foods, Unilever and Danone North America.

Related:FMI helps consumers understand rising grocery prices amid pandemic