IFCO establishes North America Advisory Board with leading retail and grocery executives to further strengthen customer and industry perspective

IFCO, a global leader in reusable packaging solutions for fresh foods, has established a North America Advisory Board, bringing together highly experienced industry leaders to provide independent advice and perspectives on the evolving needs of retailers, growers and the wider fresh grocery supply chain.

The Advisory Board will provide an additional external perspective to the company’s North American leadership, helping the company stay close to its customers, anticipate changing market needs and continuously improve the products and services it provides.

“Our customers operate in an industry that is changing rapidly, and listening closely to them has never been more important,” said Suzana Stanimirovic, President, IFCO North America. “By bringing together highly experienced leaders who understand retail, fresh food and complex supply chains, we are adding valuable external perspectives to our decision-making. Their insights will help us challenge ourselves, better understand what our customers need and continue improving how we serve them.”

The initiative also reinforces the firm’s commitment to supporting the North American grocery industry as it moves toward more circular supply chains.

The company helps growers and retailers advance their sustainability efforts by reducing packaging waste and replacing single-use packaging with reusable packaging solutions, generating savings by improving operational efficiencies, and gaining greater visibility across their supply chains through track and trace technology offered through IFCO Digital.

IFCO North America Advisory Board members

The North America Advisory Board brings together senior leaders with extensive experience across retail, grocery, food systems, fresh produce, supply chains, transformation, and business leadership.

• Shelley Broader, Chair – A seasoned global retail executive with more than 25 years of executive and board experience across Chico’s FAS, Walmart EMEA, Walmart Canada, Sweetbay Supermarkets, and Loblaw Companies Limited.
• Nicholas Bertram – President and Chief Operating Officer of Michaels, with extensive retail and grocery leadership experience across The GIANT Company, Walmart, Ahold Delhaize, Jewel-Osco/SuperValu and Flashfood.
• Vivek Sankaran – Former CEO of Albertsons Companies, with additional executive experience across PepsiCo and McKinsey & Company.
• Meg Ham – An experienced grocery leader with executive and board experience across Food Lion, Hannaford, Ahold Delhaize USA, and Albertsons Companies
• Youssef Zakharia – A global agribusiness executive and strategic advisor with extensive experience across fresh produce, food systems and supply chains, including as former Global President & COO of Fresh Del Monte Produce.

“As the use of reusable packaging expands, so does its potential to deliver meaningful operational and sustainability savings,” said Shelley Broader, Chair of the IFCO North America Advisory Board. “By bringing together decades of industry knowledge and experience, we can support IFCO in unlocking greater value for its current customers and shape solutions that meet the needs of those it will serve in the future.”

The creation of the Advisory Board forms part of the company’s continued focus on strengthening its North American business and supporting customers with efficient, resilient, and circular fresh-food supply chains.

*All images courtesy of IFCO

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