ABA adds five new members to board of directors

Outgoing board members include Fred Penny, Chuck Metzger, Kurt Miller.

The American Bakers Association (ABA) has announced five new members to their Board of Directors. The new members include:

Tony Gavin is executive vice president of Bimbo Bakeries USA (BBU), where he has worked in a variety of executive roles since 2003. Before his time at BBU, Gavin held positions at George Weston Bakeries, Best Foods, Inc., and CPC International. BBU is the largest baking company in the United States, and is the American arm of Grupo Bimbo, the Mexico-city based international bakery products manufacturer.
Darlene Nicosia is the new chief executive officer of Hearthside Foods, joining the company in 2022. Most recently, Nicosia served as president of Coca-Cola’s Canada & Northeast U.S. Zone. She brings over three decades of food industry experience with roles at The Coca-Cola Company, Kraft, and PepsiCo. A food contract manufacturer, Hearthside Foods expanded during the COVID crisis, adding six additional bakeries in the past year.
Dean Short has served as president and chief executive officer for 5 years at Lewis Brothers Bakeries, Inc. Since joining the company in 1979, Short has acted as a production laborer, route salesman, sales manager, district sales manager, director of sales development, plant vice president, general manager, and sr. vice president of sales and distribution. Lewis Brothers Bakeries is a third-generation family baking company with five bakeries in Evansville, Indiana; LaPorte, Indiana; Ft. Wayne, Indiana; Vincennes, Indiana; and Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Paul Lattan, BEMA representative, is the president – principal, Avant Food Media, and publisher, Commercial Baking. An accomplished industry leader, Lattan has 32 years of experience in the commercial baking B2B media space. Building on his many years of intellectual and relationship equity, Paul launched Avant Food Media in 2020, as an emerging B2B voice in the food and baking industry.
Tim Cook, Allied At-Large representative, is the president and chief executive officer of the LINXIS Group. LINXIS is a leader in specialized equipment, comprised of 5 companies in The Netherlands, Germany, United States, Canada, and France serving the industrial food and health manufacturing industry.

“We are honored to welcome these five accomplished leaders to the ABA board of directors and look forward to their diverse insights and leadership. The addition of these new board members also ensure that ABA truly represents all segments of the baking industry. As these members join the ABA leadership, I also want to recognize the unwavering service of outgoing board members Fred Penny, Chuck Metzger, and Kurt Miller,” said Robb MacKie, president and CEO, ABA. “Their service on the board guided our organization and industry through unthinkable, challenging global events. We are now in a stronger position than ever due to their leadership. ABA’s members and staff are grateful for their significant contributions.”

Learn more about ABA’s Board and Executive Committee Members here.

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