Salyer American Fresh Foods Inc. has hired Allan Sabatier as its senior vice president of sales and marketing. He joined the company about a month ago, according to Eric Schwartz, president of Salyer American and chief operations officer for SK Foods Group.

Most recently Mr. Sabatier was executive vice president of sales and marketing for Irwindale, CA-based Ready Pac Produce Inc. Previously, he worked for eight years for Monterey, CA-based Dole Fresh Vegetables Inc. For five of those years at Dole he worked under Mr. Schwartz as vice president of sales and marketing.

TexaSweet Citrus Marketing Inc. has elected new officers for the new Texas season. They are Mike Martin, president; Yishai Yeshurun, vice president; and Verle Cray, secretary-treasurer. Other directors are Trent Bishop, Paul Heller, Richard Walsh, Jeff Arnold, Fernando Vieto, Eduardo Carrillo, Dennis Holbrook and Fred Karle.

"One of our goals this season is to reinforce the message that the industry is strong and healthy," Mr. Martin said in a press release. "Through TexaSweet's promotional efforts, we hope to increase our consumer base throughout the season."

In recent months, Naples, FL-based Naturipe Farms LLC, an international grower-owned producer and marketer of foods, added four new faces to its team in key positions.

Those hires are Mohinder Sikka, senior director of operations; Michael Bentel, director of food safety and quality assurance; Richard Burden, director of transportation; and Robin Doran, director of communications.

The National Mango Board in Orlando, FL, strives to affect the foodservice arena and provide restaurants with the tools they need to create excellent mango dishes. This year, the board organized a day with Chef Allen (The Mango Man) Susser for Sodexho and The Cheesecake Factory. The board will also be partnering with Sodexho in the spring and summer of 2009. It will wrap up the year by participating at the International Foodservice Editorial Council conference and updating the foodservice section of Mango.org.

Lain Jager has been appointed chief executive officer of Zespri Group Ltd. following five months as acting CEO. Before that, he served as the firm's human resources manager and general manager of its supply chain.

The board of directors of the Newark, DE-based Produce Marketing Association's Foundation for Industry Talent took office at the close of PMA's 2008 Fresh Summit International Convention & Exposition in Orlando, FL, in October. Chairman of the Board Bill Schuler, president and chief executive officer of Castellini Co. in Newport, KY, is joined on the 2008-09 board by three other officers and 17 directors to lead next year's foundation activities.