BENEO, Alkemist, Aker BioMarine, Others Appoint New Personnel

BENEO, Bell Flavors and Fragrance, Alkemist Labs, NSF International, Aker BioMarine, the Natural Products Association (NPA), Qualitas Health, Sabinsa and Nu Skin recently expanded their teams with highly skilled personnel to better serve the industry.

BENEO named Ginger Schilling the company’s new regional sales manager, who will be responsible for the midwestern region of the United States. In her position, Schilling will support the food and beverage manufacturers in improving existing and developing new products. BENEO also recently elected Andreas Herber as a new member of the executive board of directors at BENEO GmbH. Herber will oversee the areas of production and operations, new business development, as well as nutrition science, regulatory affairs and food application (BENEO-Institute and BENEO-Technology Center). He will also be responsible for corporate communications, human resources and IT. 

In addition, Bell Flavors and Fragrance hired Khalid (Kal) Akel at Bell’s headquarters in Northbrook, Illinois. Akel was appointed to the position of director of operations, where he will manage day-to-day manufacturing operations at Northbrook. Akel brings more than 18 years of experience in the management of flavor and production management.

Alkemist Labs president and CSO Sidney Sudberg added two new undertakings to his technical work, as he joins the NIST/NIH Dietary Supplements Laboratory Quality Assurance Program Advisory Board and also begins a three-year term on the AOAC Technical Division on Reference Materials (TDRM) as an executive committee member. The NIST/NIH Dietary Supplements Laboratory Quality Assurance Program Advisory Board is coordinated by staff at the NIST, with the advisory board drawn from other related government agencies, testing labs, trade associations, and industry members.

NSF International also recently expanded the program’s leadership team to support its rapid growth. Former general manager Lisa Thomas will devote her energy full time to growing the NSF Certified for Sport® certification program as its technical manager while it continues to expand, working closely with professional sports leagues, anti-doping organizations, athletes, manufacturers and retailers globally. Cheryl Luther joined as general manager of NSF’s global dietary supplements program. Her role will include leading NSF’s good manufacturing practices (GMP) facility registration program, NSF’s dietary supplement and Certified for Sport® certification programs, the NSF beverage quality program and the training courses associated with these programs. In addition, she is responsible for leading the dietary supplements product category for harmonized standard development for the store brand industry through the Global Retailer and Manufacturer Alliance (GRMA).

Trond Atle Smedsrud, a former Coca-Cola executive, joined Aker BioMarine to provide global support to all company brands, including Superba Krill and Qrill. The company appointed Smedsrud to vice president of the new product marketing department, an area that will focus on enhancing the value of the company's existing and new products.

NPA announced Michael Kelley will join the association as director of government affairs. In the new role, Kelley will be responsible for overseeing the association’s interaction with the U.S. Congress and management of its PAC. Kelley joined NPA from Mayer Brown LLP where he was a government affairs specialist in the firm’s Washington D.C. office.

Qualitas Health recently welcomed Rebecca White as its new Texas site manager. White received her Ph.D. in microbiology from Texas A&M University, and prior to joining Qualitas, she was director of cultivation at Sapphire Energy, overseeing the growing and processing of microalgae.

Plus, Sabinsa marketing director Shaheen Majeed has been elected to the board of directors of the Sami Labs Group, Sabinsa’s sister company responsible for manufacturing and R&D in India. He is also a board member of Sabinsa Corporation and of Sami Direct, the group’s multi-level marketing company in India.

Daniel Chard, president of global sales and operations of Nu Skin Enterprises Inc. resigned in early September to pursue other business interests. On September 8, 2015, Ryan Napierski, president of the company's North Asia Region, was appointed to the position.