Milling & Baking News - January 29, 2019 - 35

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Szarzynski to lead newly created
Pret Panera Holding Co.
LUXEMBOURG - JAB Holding Co.,
which has controlling stakes in Panera
Bread Co. and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, among others, has announced
several organizational changes as part
of its global expansion.
Jacek Szarzynski, a Polish national,
will join JAB as lead operating partner
for JAB's newly created Pret Panera
Holding Co., where he will be responsible for the overall long-term success
of the platform. He joins the company
after a 24-year career at Mars, Inc.,
where he held several leadership positions in a number of major businesses.
Joining Mr. Szarzynski in key roles
that are expected to continue JAB's
strategy of long-term value creation
are Fabien Simon and Ricardo Rittes.
Mr. Simon, a French national, has
been named partner and chief financial officer. He spent four years at
JAB's portfolio company Jacobs Douwe Egberts, where he oversaw the

integration of Douwe Egberts and the
coffee business of Mondelez International to create JDE, led its merger and
acquisition strategy, and transformed
JDE into a global powerhouse in coffee. Prior to working at JDE, Mr. Simon

Szarzynski

Simon

Rittes

spent 14 years at Mars, holding many
leadership roles, including in pet care
and in the Asia/Pacific regions.
Mr. Rittes, a Brazilian national, will
join the JAB Partnership and lead expansion into emerging markets by
opening a new office in São Paulo.
Prior to JAB he spent 14 years at Anheuser-Busch Inbev as global treasurer

and also has served as c.f.o. of Ambev,
a publicly listed company controlled
by ABI.
Bart Becht, partner and chairman of
JAB, has announced his intent to retire
later this year after nearly 40 years in
the branded consumer business.
"Bart has been a valued member of
the JAB team for many decades," said
Peter Harf, senior partner. "Having
worked with him since our days at RB, I
will miss our day-to-day interactions on
a personal level but wish him all the best
during his well-deserved retirement."
Mr. Harf and Olivier Goudet, partner and chief executive officer, will
continue to lead JAB and oversee its
investment strategy.
"I deeply appreciate Bart's dedication to working with our portfolio
companies over the years and thank
him for his contribution to JAB," Mr.
Goudet said. "At the same time we are
excited to further strengthen our team
with Fabien, Ricardo and Jacek, all of
whom have impeccable track records
of long-term shareholder value creation in the consumer industry." MBN

Kind Healthy Snacks transitions
to new president and c.o.o.
NEW YORK - Michael J. Barkley has
been named president and chief operating officer of Kind Healthy
Snacks. He succeeds John D. Leahy, who will assume a strategic adviser role in retirement.
Mr. Barkley most recently was
with Pinnacle Foods, where he was
president of Boulder Brands from
May 2017 to August 2018. While at Barkley
Pinnacle, he was a chief marketing
officer, senior vice-president and general
manager of meals and sides, and senior
vice-president of Birds Eye Frozen Foods.

Prior to Pinnacle, he was vice-president and
general manager of healthy beverages at
Campbell Soup Co. He began his career as a senior product manager at
Frito-Lay, a division of PepsiCo, Inc.
He received a bachelor's degree in
commerce from the University of Virginia and a master's degree in business administration from the UNC
Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Mr. Leahy joined Kind in 2010
and has been credited with helping fuel
the company's growth from a business
that sold 9 whole nut bars to one that now

BakeMark hires Monica Melena
as national accounts manager
PICO RIVERA, CALIF. - Monica Melena has been named national accounts
manager at BakeMark, effective Jan. 21.
Prior to joining BakeMark, Ms. Melena was director of sales at Coastal
Marketing Group, a broker specializing in building partnerships within
the baking industry. Earlier, she was
senior operations services manager at
Sharky's Woodfired Mexican Grill. Ms.
Melena also worked as a commercial
project manager and bakery purchasing
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

manager for Walmart Mexico y Centro
America, general manager of purchasing
area for El Palacio de Hierro, and operations manager for Dave & Busters.
She received a bachelor's degree in
business administration with a specialty
in culinary arts from Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City.
"At a time when BakeMark is very
much focused on expanding our support to the industry and strengthening
partnerships, Monica is a great addition

offers more than 70 different snacks. He
also played a pivotal role in the company
entering the club channel and launched key
accounts in the mass merchandise industry.
"John had an illustrious career before
Kind and took a chance on us when he came
to our overcrowded office running in startup mode," said Daniel Lubetzky, founder
and chief executive officer. "We were lucky
that he even looked our way. I owe a tremendous amount to John, not just for his
mastery of the business and desire to service
customers with excellence and long-term
orientation, but also for his loyalty, mentorship, exemplary work ethic and values, and
ability to have fun along the way. While I
will miss our daily partnership, ours is a lifetime friendship that will endure." MBN
to our national accounts team, and we're
excited to have her contribute to our
growth plans," said Steve Scales, senior
vice-president of national sales.
BakeMark serves North America and
customers internationally across all industry channels with its product portfolio,
including bakery mixes, fillings, icings,
glazes, commodities, frozen products and
bakery supplies. BakeMark is the exclusive distributor of many brands, including
Westco, BakeSense, Best Brands, Multifoods, BakeQwik, Trigal Dorado, C'est Vivant and Sprinkelina, operating through 5
manufacturing plants and 25 distribution
centers located across North America. MBN
Milling & Baking News

January 29, 2019 / 35

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Milling & Baking News - January 29, 2019

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