The ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Program of Austin, TX, named John H. Cardellina II, Ph.D., as chief technical consultant and associate editor.
Beaverton, OR-based Beaverton Foods, Inc. hired Michael V. Di Cristo to be its new Central regional manager.
NeoCell of Irvine, CA, brought on board Rajeev Prasad to be its sales and marketing manager for the East Coast and Canada.
Daniel H. Rosenbaum was named chief operating officer of NattoPharma USA, Inc., of Metuchen, NJ.
NBTY of Ronkonkoma, NY, has a new chief customer officer: Andrew Archambault. He succeeds Rich Scoza, president of US Nutrition.
Mediterra of New York, NY, hired Michael O’Connor to be its national sales manager.
GOED of Salt Lake City, UT, announced Gerard Bannenberg, Ph.D., is now its director of compliance and scientific outreach.
In Memoriam
Nut Butter Pioneer Passes Away
The natural products industry has lost a generous and ambitious leader with the passing of Jeremy Thaler.
Along with his wife, Connie Potter, Thaler founded Once Again Nut Butter in Nunda, NY, in 1976, the culmination of a life dedicated to the concept of community on multiple levels. Prior to founding Once Again Nut Butter, Thaler was involved in co-ops in California, Wisconsin and New York. It was this dedication that gave Once Again Nut Butter its name, with it being said that “once again,” Thaler was founding a co-op.
Once Again Nut Butter let Thaler express his dedication to community through its employee ownership model, says Gael Orr, communications manager at Once Again. He wanted to create good jobs with fair wages in rural locations, and the company enabled him to do just that. Orr says that Thaler once explained his concept of community as “not just employees, but the community of Nunda.” Thaler helped subsidize the organic peanut crop for its first five years in the U.S. In addition, he blazed a trail by making Once Again the first certified organic peanut butter company in the country. Even national borders couldn’t constrain Thaler’s vision of community, with him founding 11 sesame seed co-ops in Nicaragua that now sustain over 2000 growers.
Thaler’s contributions to the industry are still felt on a local, national and international scale. Says Orr, “he was very much a visionary, he was not afraid to pull the trigger on a decision, he put everything he had on the line for his company…he was definitely a big picture thinker.”
Industry Loses Topricin Co-Founder
Founding partner of Topical BioMedics, Inc. Stephen Daniel Duricko passed away on Tuesday, October 21 at the age of 74.
In addition to founding the company with partners Lou and Aurora Paradise in 1994, Duricko was its vice president for 20 years. After serving honorably in the Divisional Intelligence G2 section of the U.S. Army, he chose a career path that included 32 years of experience as production manager, buyer, sales manager and director of marketing.
Published in WholeFoods Magazine, December 2014
