Coca-Cola Enterprises President and CEO John Aim left the company in January. Lowry Kline, chairman of the board of directors, is serving as interim CEO.

Coca-Cola EnterprisesPresident and CEOJohn Aimleft the company in January.Lowry Kline, chairman of the board of directors, is serving as interim CEO.

Robert Sharpehas been named executive vice president for legal and regulatory affairs atConAgra Foods. Sharpe was most recently a partner with Brunswick Group. Prior to that, he served as vice president, public affairs, secretary and general counsel forPepsiCo.

George Deese, currently president and CEO ofFlowers Foods, has been elected to the additional position of chairman of the board.Amos McMullian, chairman of the board since 1985, has been named chairman emeritus and will continue as a member of the board.

APV Invensys'work in heat transfer, membrane filtration, mixing and blending and other equipment categories was cited by Frost & Sullivan consultancy in its selection of APV for the 2005 Technology Innovation Award. Poor investments prevented APV from investing in engineering improvements for its food and beverage equipment prior to 2004, when the company launched an aggressive turnaround effort, according to APV PresidentHaluk Durogan. A quick return to profitability was followed by new product introductions, with the company's 10% ROI being put back into additional innovations. Affordability is a major focus, Durogan says, with "mid-spec" machines joining the firm's premium products. "Customers are demanding transparency and digging for quality," he says.

Thomas ColbournjoinedSweet Success Enterprisesas director of product supply. He was most recently employed as president of manufacturing development forElan Nutrition. Colbourn formerly spent more than a decade as operations manager atFrito-Layand six years as plant manager forKraft Foods/Capri Sun.

Dole Food Co. promotedSylvain Cuperlierto vice president, director of worldwide corporate social responsibility. Previously he was manager, responsibility programs and communication, Europe and Africa, for Dole.

MultivacappointedMark Douglasas director of service operations. Prior to this appointment, Douglas held various positions at Industrial Dynamics where he worked for 13 years.

Tate & Lyleis acquiring US specialty food ingredients companyContinental Custom Ingredientsand the Italian-basedCesalpiniagroup of companies. The transactions will be completed early this year.