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Institute of Food Technologists welcomes 2008-2009 President and President-Elect

FoodProcessing.com
09/18/2008

Sheri Schellhaass, vice president of research and development for General Mills, officially became the 69th president of the Institute of Food Technologists (http://www.ift.org/cms/). Schellhaass has been an active member of IFT for more than 17 years through various roles including participation on the IFT Foundation Board, Task Force on Strategic Development Member, Task Force on Governance Chair, Management Committee on Life-Long Learning & Careers, Publications Committee, Annual Meeting Management Committee, Exhibitor Advisory Committee, and Executive Committee. Her term began September 2, 2008.

As president, she will work with a range of volunteers from academia, industry and government to support IFT’s overall mission to advance the science of food and to ensure a safe and abundant food supply that contributes to healthier people everywhere.

Dr. Schellhaass currently leads research and development for the Bakeries & Foodservice Division, Baked Goods Technology, and Culinary for General Mills. She received her Ph.D. in food science from the University of Minnesota in 1983 and began her career at General Mills after completing her degree. Dr. Schellhaass held integral positions throughout the corporation, including director of Big G cereal and Yoplait divisions and vice president of the Bell Institute of Health & Nutrition, Agricultural Research, and the Grain Center of Excellence.

Also welcomed into the IFT presidency is Marianne Gillette, vice president of technical competencies and platforms for McCormick and Co. Inc. Gillette will assume IFC presidency September 1, 2009, and will be the 70th president of IFT.

In her new role as president-elect, she will work with a range of volunteers from academia, industry and government to support IFT’s overall mission to advance the science of food and to ensure a safe and abundant food supply that contributes to healthier people everywhere.

Gillette began her career at McCormick in 1977 where she held positions in sensory testing, industrial marketing, product development and research. In her current role at McCormick, she is involved with increasing product development innovation that led to the McCormick CreateIT Center, which is responsible for focused ideation. Her leadership includes developing novel menu items for restaurants as well as being a co-inventor of sensory tools for quality control and for assessing heat in red pepper.