Yogurt - KeHE Distributors, LLC

contributorsLaura McCordCategory Director, Snacks & Beverages/NaturalTeam LeadLaura, a New York native, began her retailing careerover 10 years ago and has spend the last 6 yearswith KeHE working as an Account Analysis, and thenAccount Manager for the Associated Food Stores.After achieving success in the field, moved over to theAssortment Management team and is currently managing the Snacks,Beverages and Salsa categories. Laura has a Bachelor of Science inManagement from the University of Utah. Laura can be reached atlaura.mccord@kehe.comKarina RamirezCategory Manager, Authentic Hispanic, SalsaKarina started with KeHE when she was still in highschool, and over the last 13 years she has worked inseveral areas of the company, including Sales andeCommerce. Karina is very excited about being able towork with the foods she grew up with and contributingto their successful growth within each of the channelsKeHE services. Karina can be reached at karina.ramirez@kehe.comKatie StrohbeckCategory Manager, Frozen, Gluten FreeKatie has been with KeHE for over three years andrecently joined the category management team asthe Frozen and Gluten Free category expert. Katie isexcited to utilize her Food and Consumer PackagedGoods Marketing degree acquired from WesternMichigan University, one of the only universities in thecountry to offer such a degree. Katie also enjoys working with the glutenfree category because it helps others live a normal lifestyle that they oncecould not live due to their disease or intolerances. Katie can be reached atkatie.strohbeck@kehe.comMaria ReyesCategory Director, Authentic Italian, Oils & VinegarsMaria has over 30 years of experience in the fooddistribution industry. Career highlights include seniorvendor manager - ethnic suppliers, Tree of Life, Inc.; vicepresident of purchasing, Gourmet Award Foods. Mariais a first generation Hispanic-American, born to Cubanparents who immigrated to the United States in 1969.She is fluent in both the English and Spanish languages. Maria is currentlythe Category Director, Authentic Hispanic, Cookies and International. Mariacan be reached at maria.reyes@kehe.comTerry RaffertyCategory Director, Coffee, Tea, and GrainsPrior to joining TOL in April, 2006 Terry spent 33 years atPathmark Stores, Inc. a major retailer on the East Coast.At Pathmark Stores he was a Director of CategoryManagement and spent 13 years in Corporate holdingthe following positions - Pricing Coordinator, Buyer, Sr.Category Manager and Director of Purchasing andMaintenance. Before entering the Corporate world at Pathmark Stores, hespent 20 years in the stores with his last position being a General StoreManager. Reach Terry at terry.rafferty@kehe.comJim ZografosCategory Director, Condiments & Cocktail MixesWith over 30 years in both the Foodservice and Retailfood industries, “Jimmy Z” began his career at KeHEDistributors in 1989. During his 21 year tenure, Jimhas worked in several sales and marketing positionsbeginning with merchandiser, sales representative,account manager, sales supervisor and currently as theCategory Director for Condiments, Salad Dressings, and Southern Foods.Jim can be reached at Jim.Zografos@kehe.comDavid TaylorCategory Director, Beer & WineDavid Taylor began his career in the Natural ProductsIndustry at the age of 13 at a local Tampa, FL healthfood store. Over the next 15 years, he worked withinseveral segments of the Natural Products Industry andat an early point in his career, David was sent to NewOrleans to learn from wine experts. He then openedone of the largest independent Natural Foods Stores in Florida, boastingthe most extensive selection of Organic/Biodynamic wine and beer inthe country. After almost 20 years of traveling extensively and developingrelationships all over the world, David is now the KeHE Category Directorfor the Wine and Beer category and brings a retail background perspectiveand expertise that should help retailers drive new trends within their stores.David can be reached at david.taylor@kehe.comJacob Rusanov,Category Director, KosherJacob joined the KeHE team after 11 years in theindustry. Some of his career highlights includes creatingthe Kosher program at Wakefern/ShopRite andexperiencing double-digit growth for each of the lastsix years and working with major consumer productsgoods companies to make some of their staple itemsKosher certified. Jacob really enjoys facilitating helping Kosher consumersfind what they want and need in stores all over the country. Jacob can bereached at jacob.rusanov@kehe.comMichael ClineCategory Director, BulkMike has had experience at all levels of the industry,from crop contracting and production to sales,procurement and executive management. Beforejoining Tree of Life, Mike worked for Caudill Seed,based in Louisville, Kentucky. Mike can be reached atmichael.cline@kehe.comtArn GrashoffSr. Director, Fresh ProductsArn began his retailing career at Scott’s Supermarketsin Ft. Wayne, Indiana while still in high school. Arnstarted in the deli department and found this to behis true love. After 7 years with Scott’s, Arn took on aregional position with Skandia Foods for 3 years prior torelocating to Chicagoland with KeHE Distributors. In his16 years with KeHE, Arn has honed his skills specializing in Fresh Productswith a strong focus on produce, deli cheese, dairy and meats. Arn can bereached at arn.grashoff@kehe.comHeather OpolonyCategory Manager, Cheese & DeliPrior to joining the KeHE Distributors Fresh Productteam, Heather worked with the Flangel group as theKeHE representative building the imported bulk cheeseprogram. Heather’s over 15 year career includesaccount management with Cheese & Deli Salesbrokerage where she worked with retailers around thecountry developing sales and marketing programs for their cheese and delidepartments. Heather is most excited about exploring different cheese aswell as educating retailers about how to properly merchandise cheese intheir stores to garner additional sales. Heather can be reached atheather.opolony@kehe.com4 OnTREND May/August 2013