FMI Promotes 4

Food Marketing Institute (FMI) recently promoted four managerial staff members representing the Arlington, Va.-based organization’s strategic focus on the food safety and regulatory environment. The promoted executives were as follows:

Stephanie Barnes is now FMI’s chief regulatory officer and legal counsel, expanding her regulatory role to include legal oversight of the organization’s bylaws and antitrust guidelines. After more than three years as the industry’s regulatory point person, she took on new responsibilities as FMI’s legal counsel. Barnes has helped member companies craft compliance strategies on a wide range of regulations, among them the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). She has also compiled dozens of regulatory comments, represented the industry on a number of food law panels and presented informational webinars during her time at FMI. When not offering guidance to members, Barnes works internally with FMI staff to ensure that the various regulatory changes are correctly interpreted for members to apply in their stores.

LeAnn Chuboff has devoted her career since 2009 to the FMI division responsible for developing, maintaining and promoting the Safe Quality Food Institute’s (SQFI) code. In her new role of VP, SQFI technical affairs, Chuboff has effectively directed all technical aspects of the program, including the food safety standards, guidelines, training materials, and audit and certification protocols. With the recent upgrade of the SQFI code to Edition 8, she is addressing the latest emerging food safety and quality issues and industry challenges, offering solutions for a safer supply chain. As a content expert, Chuboff tours the United States teaching the Global Food Safety Initiative-benchmarked code and promotes SQFI as a resource for government officials and other food safety stakeholders.

Sarah Malenich was promoted to director, Safe Quality Food Institute sales and marketing, a role focused on promoting and elevating all SQFI programs, including the SQF globally accepted food safety and quality certification program and the SQFI Ethical Sourcing Certification. In her new role, she’s responsible for leading and directing the development and implementation of strategic sales, marketing and business development plans and initiatives for these programs. Malenich’s duties also include managing communications, websites and marketing materials to stakeholders to help implement increased SQF recognition and site and training registrations.

Hilary Thesmar, PhD, RD, CFS, is now chief food and product safety officer and SVP, food safety programs. Having joined FMI six years ago, she supervises food safety programs, initiatives, activities and resources for FMI and its members, representing the organization to a wide audience of stakeholders and professionals on food safety and government regulatory compliance issues. Under Thesmar’s leadership, FMI updated its SafeMark Food Handler training program and the FMI food safety team updated and created several critical resources on such topics as a listeria action plan for retailers and FSMA compliance.