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Harvest Food Group Appoints Pandhi as President, CEO

 

Amit Pandhi

Harvest Food Group, a leading co-packer, supplier and distributor of frozen food products, announced high-growth CPG veteran Amit Pandhi as the new president and chief executive officer. Harvest Food Group, which will be celebrating its 25th anniversary in June 2024, was purchased by Industrial Opportunity Partners in May.

Pandhi brings a wealth of expertise to HFG. He most recently served as the CEO of Popchips, one of North America’s premier better-for-you snack brands, where he orchestrated a remarkable transformation and revitalization of the company in partnership with private equity firm VMG Partners. Within a span of just three years, he oversaw the construction of a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, devised innovative market strategies, and effectively doubled the business.

Popchips achieved a successful sale to a strategic acquirer in Q4 2022 under Amit’s leadership. Prior to his tenure at Popchips, Pandhi served as president and CEO of Arctic Zero.

“I am thrilled to announce the appointment of Amit Pandhi as our new President and CEO,” said Norman Young, chairman of HFG. “HFG is a rare case study of success in all frozen food categories, including Branded, Private Label, Food Service, Co-Manufacturing, and Ingredients. With Amit’s proven track record of driving growth and innovation in the food space, his guidance will undoubtedly propel HFG to new heights.”

As a leading supplier of frozen ingredients in North America, HFG offers hundreds of top-quality IQF vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes and herbs sourced from all over the globe. Investments from Industrial Opportunity Partners have scaled HFG’s manufacturing capabilities, including vertical and horizontal bagging lines that form, fill and seal; a bulk packing line that converts case sizes; a state-of-the-art bowl line that will fill, seal and carton all types of meals; and a specialized cup line that produces convenient, grab-and-go frozen or refrigerated items. These manufacturing lines produce some of the most flavorful, safe, and high-quality frozen food products in the industry. With Pandhi at the helm, customers can expect even higher standards of quality and service.

“HFG makes incredible products across so many verticals, and I look forward to building upon its long history to grow our private label, food service, contract manufacturing, branded and ingredient businesses. I also look forward to deepening our relationships with existing customers, from the largest retailers and best global food companies, as well as serving the most innovative emerging brands in frozen,” Pandhi said.

“We are proud of the position we have carved out over the past twenty five years as industry leaders,” said Jason Eckert, co-founder of HFG. “Amit will infuse a new source of energy and expand the vision for what HFG can become. His experience in building organizations and maximizing growth and profitability will help position Harvest Food Group to tackle the challenges that our industry faces heading into the future. I can’t wait to see what we are capable of under Amit’s leadership and the support of IOP.” Eckert, who co-founded HFG along with his father in 1999, will transition from President to board member.

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Billerud Appoints Ivar Vatne as CEO, President

The board of Billerud has appointed Ivar Vatne as president and CEO.  Vatne has been acting president and CEO since July 2023 and enters the permanent position with immediately.

“The board has conducted a thorough recruitment process and has evaluated both internal and external candidates,” said Jan Svensson, chairman. “We are very pleased that Ivar is willing to take on the job and it shows real strength that we find the best candidate within the company.

“Ivar is a highly appreciated leader, and he has deep knowledge about the company’s strategic direction. He has also proved that he understands the importance of continuous improvements to secure competitiveness, and has the ability to drive them.”

Vatne started as CFO in Billerud in May 2019. He was appointed feputy CEO in October 2022. Since July, he has been the acting president and CEO of Billerud. Vatne has a background from senior positions within Arla, Fiskars and P&G.

“I’m both happy and proud that the board gives me the confidence to continue in the role as president and CEO,” Vatne said. “Billerud is a company with great potential and fantastic employees. I look forward to continuing the work of releasing that potential.”

Billerud is a world leading company in high-performing paper and packaging materials – passionately committed to sustainability, quality and customer value. It serves customers in more than 100 countries with nine production facilities in Sweden, the United States and Finland.

Billerud provides paper and packaging materials that challenge conventional packaging for a sustainable future. It is a world leading company in high-performing paper and packaging materials made from virgin fiber. The company has nine production units in Sweden, USA, and Finland with around 6,100 employees in over 13 countries and customers in over 100 countries. Billerud has an annualized turnover of approximately SEK 42,6 billion and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.

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Giant Food Earns Top Score From Human Rights Campaign Foundation

Giant Food, the leading greater Washington, D.C. regional grocery chain, has received a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2023 Corporate Equality Index, the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality. Giant Food joins the ranks of over 545 major U.S. businesses that also earned top marks this year.

“Giant Food is extremely proud to have earned a score of 100 for the fifth consecutive year on the Corporate Equality Index for the practices we have established to foster and support a diverse and inclusive workplace for our LGBTQ+ team members,” said Brian Wanner, vice president of human resources at Giant Food. “We are committed to embracing and advancing a workplace that represents and celebrates the cultures, backgrounds and experiences of our team members and communities helping create a culture in which we can all grow, care and belong.”

Giant has consistently worked to implement and advance a range of programs, policies and practices to promote inclusivity and diversity. Just this year, the company has introduced or expanded upon several training, education, employee benefit and partnership efforts including:

  • Ongoing Gender Inclusivity training for all employees
  • Creation of employee LGBTQ+ Benefits Guide
  • Creation of employee Gender Transition Guidelines
  • Added Restroom Guidelines signage
  • Addition of employee pronouns to name and security badges
  • Involvement in regional Pride celebrations including Washington, D.C. and Baltimore

“For well over two decades, businesses have played an important role in furthering LGBTQ+ equality by centering employee needs and voices when it comes to workplace inclusion. While there is much more work to be done, year-over-year growth in CEI participation is evidence of a business community that recognizes the responsibility and value in upholding equity and inclusion,” said RaShawn “Shawnie” Hawkins, Human Rights Campaign Sr Director of Workplace Equality.

“Our goal at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation is to work in a spirit of partnership with companies, providing educational resources and leading benchmarking, and collaborating on ways for businesses to support the LGBTQ+ community at a time when we face unprecedented legislative attacks, heightened anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and physical violence. The CEI is an ever-evolving tool – a blueprint that companies can use to show up more effectively in supporting their LGBTQ+ employees and their families.”

The results of the 2023-2024 CEI showcase how U.S.-based companies are promoting LGBTQ+ friendly workplace policies in the United States and abroad. The first year of the CEI included 319 participants, and the 2023-2024 CEI now includes 1,384 participants; further demonstrating the tremendous trajectory of the CEI, a record-breaking 1,340 businesses have non-discrimination protections specific to gender identity, up from just 17 in 2002.

These critical non-discrimination protections cover 21 million employees in the U.S. and around the globe. Giant Food’s efforts in satisfying all the CEI’s criteria earned a score of 100 and the designation as recipient of the Equality 100 Award: Leader in LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion.

The CEI rates employers providing these crucial protections to over 20 million U.S. workers and an additional 18 million outside of the U.S. Companies rated in the CEI include Fortune magazine’s 500 largest publicly traded businesses, American Lawyer magazine’s top 200 revenue-grossing law firms (AmLaw 200), and hundreds of publicly and privately held mid- to large-sized businesses.

The CEI rates companies on detailed criteria falling under four central pillars:

  • Non-discrimination policies across business entities;
  • Equitable benefits for LGBTQ+ workers and their families;
  • Supporting an inclusive culture; and,
  • Corporate social responsibility.

The full report is available online at https://www.hrc.org/resources/corporate-equality-index.

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