Renaissance Food Group, Rancho Cordova, Calif., has created two new executive vice president positions, promoting Raina Nelson to one of them, the executive vice president of business development.
Mark Lodge was hired for the other position, executive vice president of operations.
Nelson has been with Renaissance Food Group for about 7 ½ years, as vice president of sales and most recently as senior vice president of supply chain management, overseeing the company’s fresh ingredient supply chain.
In her new role, Nelson oversees sales, product development, food safety, marketing and other departments, according to a news release.
Before joining RFG in 2012, she was imports manager for C.H. Robinson and director of food safety and quality assurance at Rosemont Farms. She is on the boards of the United Fresh Produce Association and Southeast Produce Council.
Lodge has more than 25 years of experience leading large-scale manufacturing and logistics operations, according to the news release. Most recently he was executive vice president of operations, innovation and customer service at school lunch supplier Revolution Foods.
Before that, he was president of True Fresh HPP/True Food Innovations, and was at Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets for more than 9 ½ years, with roles that included senior vice president of manufacturing operations, supply chain and logistics.
At RFG, Lodge’s duties include overseeing operations, product management and procurement, according to the release.
Nelson and Lodge report directly to RFG president Jim Gibson. He remains involved in all aspects of the business, but Nelson and Lodge will have hands-on roles in day-to-day business, according to the release.
“Having Raina and Mark in place to oversee the daily details will allow me to more fully engage in strategic planning,” Gibson said in the release. “Our governance structure is simply evolving to reflect the sophisticated, dynamic company we’ve become.”
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