Leadership Team

Directors

Kathryn J. Boor
Dr. Boor is the Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost for Graduate Education at Cornell University. Previously, Dr. Boor served as the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell University from 2010-2020.
Dr. Boor serves on various boards and councils including the Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council, the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research Board of Directors, the Boyce Thompson Institute Board of Directors, the New York State Council on Hunger and Food Policy, the International Life Sciences Institute Board of Trustees, the Friends of the New York Youth Institute, the E&J Gallo Winery Agriculture Advisory Committee and the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets Milk Marketing Advisory Council. Dr. Boor earned a B.S. in Food Science from Cornell University, an M.S. in Food Science from the University of Wisconsin and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of California, Davis.

Peter R. Call
Mr. Call is President of My-T Acres, Inc., a vegetable and grain farm. He has been President of Pro-Fac Cooperative, Inc. since 2003 and a member of its board of directors since 2000. Mr. Call also serves as president of Farm Fresh First, LLC, and has done so since 2007. Farm Fresh First, LLC, is an agricultural business that manages fruit and vegetable production and marketing. Mr. Call also served on the Board of Directors of Birds Eye Foods from 2002-2009. He has served as a director of the Company since 2011. Mr. Call received his B.S. degree from Cornell University in 1979.

John P. Gaylord
Mr. Gaylord has operating and management experience in manufacturing and distribution businesses, including experience as President of Jacintoport Terminal Company since 1992.  He currently serves as a director and member of the conflicts committee, audit committee, nominating committee and compensation committee, along with being a general partner of Martin Midstream Partners L.P., a publicly traded limited partnership with a diverse set of operations focused primarily in the United States Gulf Coast region.  Mr. Gaylord holds a B.A. from Texas Christian University and an M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University.  He has served as a director of the Company since October 2009.

Kraig H. Kayser 
Mr. Kayser was named non-executive Chairman of the Board in November 2021. Previously, Mr. Kayser was President and Chief Executive Officer from June 1993 until October 2020. Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 1991 to 1993. He was a Vice President of J. P. Morgan Investment Management, Inc., New York, New York from 1989 to 1991 and Assistant Vice President until 1989. He graduated from Hamilton College with a B.A. in Economics in 1982 and Cornell University with an MBA in Finance in 1984.  
He is on the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Audit Committee of Moog, Inc., a NYSE aerospace company located in East Aurora, New York; Trustee and Chairman of the Executive Committee, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, Former Trustee, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York; Former Member of Advisory Council of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York; and Past President of the Board of Trustees, Harley School, Rochester, New York.

Linda K. Nelson
Ms. Nelson has over 26 years of experience in financial and operational management. Most recently, Ms. Nelson serves as a financial executive consultant, holding a senior leadership position on various acquisition and merger due diligence teams evaluating opportunities for both large-scale private equity firms and local entrepreneurs. From 2011 to 2013, Ms. Nelson held the role of Chief Financial Officer for First American Equipment Finance. Prior to that, Ms. Nelson was with Birds Eye Foods, Inc. for 15 years in increasingly responsible financial roles, reaching the position of Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary in 2008.

Michael F. Nozzolio
Mr. Nozzolio is a Partner in the law firm Harris Beach PLLC. He was elected and represented the Finger Lakes region in the New York State Legislature, serving ten years in the Assembly, where he became Deputy Minority Leader, and twenty four years in the State Senate. While in the State Senate he served in a number of leadership positions, including Majority Whip. Prior to his elective service, he worked for four years as a Legislative Counsel in the U.S. House of Representatives. Mr. Nozzolio earned a Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from Cornell University. He is a graduate of the Syracuse University College of Law, and served as an officer in the United States Naval Reserve and the New York State Naval Militia. He currently serves as an active member of many advisory boards relating to food and agriculture, including the Cornell College of Agriculture, Cornell AgriTech, The Institute for Food Safety at Cornell and the New York State Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture at Cornell AgriTech.

Paul L. Palmby
Mr. Palmby is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and has served in that capacity since October of 2020. From 2006-2020 Mr. Palmby served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company. Prior to that, he served as President of the Vegetable Division of the Company from 2005 to 2006 and Vice President of Operations of the Company from 1999-2004. Mr. Palmby joined the Company in February 1987.  He has been twice appointed by the Governor of Wisconsin and has served since 2015 on the Board of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection for the state. He has been a Director since 2018 of Blackhawk Bancorp, Inc., the parent company of Blackhawk Bank, a Beloit, Wisconsin publicly traded community bank with nine full service banking centers in Wisconsin and Illinois. He is also a Director of the Farming For The Future Foundation which is a Foundation dedicated to educating the public about where their food comes from.  

Donald J. Stuart
Mr. Stuart is a Managing Partner / Founder at Cadent Consulting Group. Prior to Cadent, he served as Chief Operating Officer of Kantar Retail. Mr. Stuart was a founding partner of Cannondale Associates in 1992, as well as Managing Director and CEO / President. Before Cannondale, he had a strong finance and marketing background from his management positions at Glendinning Associates and Pillsbury / Green Giant. He has extensive experience in sales and marketing consulting for consumer manufacturers across multiple retail channels. Mr. Stuart received his B.A. in Economics from St. Lawrence University and his M.B.A. from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

Keith A. Woodward
Mr. Woodward is the former Chief Financial Officer for Tennant Corporation, an industrial cleaning company. Mr. Woodward is also a former Senior Vice President, Finance for General Mills, Inc. where he worked for 26 years from 1991-2017. From 2006-2009, he served as a board observer as a representative of General Mills pursuant to the Green Giant Alliance Agreement. He has served as a director of the Company since 2018. Mr. Woodward has his M.B.A. in Finance and Marketing, and a B.S. in Accounting both from Indiana University. Mr. Woodward is also currently a board member of Phillips Distilling Company in Minneapolis.
 

 

Officers

Paul L. Palmby
Mr. Palmby is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and has served in that capacity since October of 2020. From 2006-2020 Mr. Palmby served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company. Prior to that, he served as President of the Vegetable Division of the Company from 2005 to 2006 and Vice President of Operations of the Company from 1999-2004. Mr. Palmby joined the Company in February 1987.  He has been twice appointed by the Governor of Wisconsin and has served since 2015 on the Board of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection for the state. He has been a Director since 2018 of Blackhawk Bancorp, Inc., the parent company of Blackhawk Bank, a Beloit, Wisconsin publicly traded community bank with nine full service banking centers in Wisconsin and Illinois. He is also a Director of the Farming For The Future Foundation which is a Foundation dedicated to educating the public about where their food comes from.  

 

Timothy Benjamin
Mr. Benjamin has served as Chief Financial Officer since 2012. Prior to joining the Company, he had more than 30 years of work experience in finance, treasury, tax and risk management areas. Mr. Benjamin was Corporate Treasurer at North American Breweries in Rochester, New York, and prior to that he was Director of Treasury and Tax Operations at IEC Electronics Corporation in 2010. He was with Birds Eye Foods, Inc. for 15 years prior in increasingly responsible financial positions, reaching the position of Vice President and Treasurer in 2008.

Carl A. Cichetti
Mr. Cichetti has served as Senior Vice President Technology and Planning since 2009 and Chief Information Officer of the Company since 2006. He was a Senior Consultant of Navint (Technology Consulting) from 2004-2005 and Senior Vice President of Technology of Citigroup from 2001- 2004.

Dean E. Erstad
Mr. Erstad has been Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing of the Company since 2001 and Vice President of Private Label Sales during 2000.

John D. Exner
Mr. Exner has been General Counsel of the Company since 2006 and Assistant Secretary since 2007. He was Legal Counsel/Vice President from 1991-2002 and Legal Counsel/President from 2002 to 2005 of Midwest Food Processors Association, Inc.

Cynthia L. Fohrd
Ms. Fohrd has been Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of the Company since 2007. Ms. Fohrd has held various positions since joining the Company in 1988 including Financial Analyst, Internal Auditor, Risk Management and Vice President of Human Resources.

Aaron M. Girard
Mr. Girard has served as Senior Vice President of Logistics since 2011.  He joined the company in 2009 as Vice President of Transportation.

Matt J. Henschler
Mr. Henschler has been Senior Vice President of Technical Services and Contract Manufacturing since October 2020. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President of Technical Services and Development, and Vice President of Technical Services and Development beginning in 2005.

Gregory Ide
Mr. Ide began serving as Vice President, Corporate Controller and Secretary of the Company in December 2020. He joined the Company as Assistant Treasurer in 2018.

Timothy R. Nelson
Mr. Nelson has served as the Senior Vice President of Operations and President of Fruit and Snack since 2020. He has served as Senior Vice President of Operations since December 2018. Prior to that, he held the position of Vice President of Fruit and Snack operations from 2008 to 2018 and he spent time as the Plant Manager of Seneca’s plants in Blue Earth, Montgomery and Glencoe, Minnesota from 1999-2008. Mr. Nelson joined the Company in March 1992.