AIB International Appoints Four New Members To Its Board Of Trustees

Manhattan, Kansas – AIB International has announced the appointment of four new members to its Board of Trustees. Joining the 2018 Board of Trustees are Judy Abrams, Michael Leikam, Pat Murphy, and Lucy Williams.

“We welcome these excellent additions to the Board of Trustees. Each has impressive talents and expertise in their respective sectors,” said John Riesch, Board of Trustees Chairman. “We are fortunate to have them share their wisdom to guide our long-term goals and initiatives.”

Judy Abrams is a financial and management consultant in Missouri, with experience in a wide range of industries including food, retail, commercial construction, and with non-profits. Prior to her consulting work, Abrams led The Earthgrains Company in corporate planning and acquisitions. She then provided internal investment strategies for Sara Lee Bakery after they acquired The Earthgrains Company. More recently she has been Chief Financial Officer for Tarlton Corporation, a commercial construction company that is the largest woman-owned business in St. Louis.

Abrams serves on several non-profit boards and finance committees in St. Louis, including the Subdistrict Commission for the Missouri History Museum, the Capital Planning Committee for the Ladue School District, and Planned Giving for the Jewish Federation. She has consulted with these and other non-profits in St. Louis on governance structures and shared service strategies.

Michael Leikam is President and Chief Executive Officer of Centralized Supply Chain Services, LLC, which is a $2 billion supply chain cooperative for the Applebee’s and IHOP restaurant groups. Before joining CSCS, he was Executive Director of Strategic Supply Management for DineEquity. Leikam started in the restaurant industry working for Pizza Hut, which was a division of PepsiCo at the time. He held a variety of roles in the IT and finance functions before transferring to PepsiCo Restaurant Services (PRS). At PRS, he was one of several project directors responsible for managing the consolidation of the accounting and financial systems of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and KFC into a single-shared service organization.

Leikam graduated from Kansas State University and serves on the College of Business’s Graduate Studies Advisory Council, and is a mentor in the college’s Executive Mentor program. He previously served on the Board of Directors for the Spofford Home, a leading provider of prevention and therapeutic treatment services in Kansas City for children suffering the effects of physical and sexual abuse, neglect, and mental health disorders.

Pat Murphy is Director, Supply Chain Leader for the Convenience and Foodservice segment of General Mills (GMI), where he is responsible for the end-to-end supply chain of GMI’s $1.9B segment. His career spans 30 years as he has taken on increased responsibilities with General Mills across seven plants and three headquarters assignments. He was instrumental in leading GMI through one of its largest single capital investment projects.

Murphy’s non-profit work includes several board chair positions with United Way and Boys & Girls Clubs. He served on the United Way of Tennessee’s board for two years prior to relocating to Minnesota, where he currently sits on the Board of Advisors for the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School Supply Chain Management program, his alma mater.

Lucy Williams is Vice President and Trust Officer at The Trust Company. Williams began her career in banking in 1980 at the Union National Bank & Trust Company in Manhattan where she was the assistant to the President. She later became the Personnel Director where she was responsible for administering services for 90 employees and then a Personal Banking Officer assisting high-net worth customers with personalized banking services. When Union National was purchased by Commerce Bank in 1992, Williams was promoted to her current role.

Williams is active in the Manhattan community as a member of the Konza Rotary Club, past Chair of the Board for the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce, as well as, serving on the Chamber’s Business Advocacy Committee. She is a past board member of the KSU Research Foundation, Konza United Way, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Endowment Fund, Manhattan Day Care, K-State’s Women’s Studies Program Advisory Council, and past Chair of the Meadowlark Hills Foundation.

Besides these four new members, the 2018 AIB International Board of Trustees for 2018 also includes: Bradley Allen, Vice President of Operations Ardent Mills; Greg Boyd, Vice President of Manufacturing Flowers Foods, Inc.; Barry Clayton, Senior Vice President, Bakery Ingredients AB Mauri North America; Jeffrey Dearduff, Corporate Director, Baking& Snack The Austin Company; Brian Dwyer, Director, Manufacturing Operation Kroger Company; Todd Larson, Vice President, Operations Henningsen Cold Storage Co.; Michael Martin, Vice President, R&D/Quality The Bama Companies; Richard McGrath, Partner Lockton Companies; John Morris, PhD, CPA, Associate Professor, Director of MAcc Program Kansas State University; John Riesch, Director Lesaffre Yeast Corporation, and Board Chair; Ramon Rivera, Senior Vice President Operations, North America Bimbo Bakeries USA; Craig Slavtcheff, Vice President, Global R&D – Biscuits & Snacks Division/US Biscuit & Bakery Group Campbell Soup Company; Donald Thriffiley, Jr., Principal KAT Management Group, LLC; Nick Weigel, Vice President, Technical Services ADM Milling Company; and Campbell Williams, Director of Operations BCW Food Products, Inc.

About AIB International

AIB International empowers clients worldwide to elevate their food safety and production process capabilities by developing and delivering application-oriented learning, consulting, and value-added services. To find out more about AIB International please visit us at www.aibonline.org or call 800-633- 5137.

Source: AIB International