WASHINGTON — The Grain Foods Foundation (GFF) approved the appointment of four new trustees to its board at its annual meeting on Jan. 16. The new trustees are: Mike Gomes from The Kroger Co., Matt Manwaring from Puratos, Rick Oleshak from AB Mauri and Colleen Zammer from Bay State Milling Co. 

The four trustees bring years of combined professional experience in marketing, sales, supply chain and innovation to the GFF’s already accomplished board, said Erin Ball, executive director, GFF.             

“I am looking forward to working with Mike, Rick, Matt and Colleen to continue executing GFF’s strategic plan and ensuring GFF remains relevant to a wide breadth of stakeholders,” she said. “With their input, I know we’ll be even better positioned to amplify the exciting research we’re working on as well as our other grains-positive programming and messaging.” 

Gomes is vice president of central operations for supply chain at The Kroger Co., based in Cincinnati. He is responsible for the innovation, transformation and continuous improvement of Kroger manufactured products. He joined Kroger in 2023 with more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing and distribution.

Manwaring is vice president of sales for industrial and foodservice customers at Puratos. He has more than 10 years of experience in the food industry, previously with Campbell Soup, in addition to Puratos. His work passion is helping customers grow via innovation.   

Oleshak is vice president of marketing for AB Mauri North America, where he leads the brand marketing strategy and development process for the baking ingredients company and manufacturer of Fleischmann’s Yeast.