FMI SEEKS TO FILL VACANT ECR COMMITTEE POST

WASHINGTON -- The Food Marketing Institute here is looking for a successor to Jerry Metcalf as co-chairman of the Joint Industry Executive Committee on Efficient Consumer Response.

Metcalf, former chairman and chief executive officer of Scrivner, Oklahoma City, had been co-chairman of the committee since late 1993. When Fleming Cos., Oklahoma City, completed its acquisition of Scrivner in mid-July, Metcalf resigned from Scrivner and the ECR executive committee.

The ECR committee's next meeting is scheduled for late September and a decision on a successor is likely to come before that meeting, Brown said. However, she said, it's "a tough time of year to track people down."

Richard Mayer, chairman and chief executive officer of Kraft General Foods, Northfield, Ill., continues as co-chairman representing the manufacturing side of the industry. Metcalf represented the retail-wholesale side. One successor possibility for Metcalf would be for David Jenkins, Metcalf's predecessor as co-chairman and the committee's current vice chairman, to fill in on a temporary basis through the end of the year, Brown said. Jenkins is the retired chairman and chief executive officer of Shaw's Supermarkets, East Bridgewater, Mass., and a director of J. Sainsbury, London. Sainsbury is Shaw's parent company.

Another possibility, Brown said, would be for a new executive from the distribution side of the business to be appointed on a permanent basis.