The Specialty Food Assn. on July 21 named Phillip Kafarakis, a National Restaurant Assn. officer, as president. He replaces Ann Daw, who left the association in November 2015 to pursue other interests.
Kafarakis brings more than 30 years of food industry experience to the association, with a background in brand management, membership development and strategic planning.
Since May 2013, he was chief innovation and member advancement officer for the National Restaurant Assn. Prior to that, he spent 10 years with McCormick & Co., and he also worked at Cargill, Jones Dairy Farm and Kraft. He has a bachelor's degree in marketing management from Northern Arizona University and an MBA from Georgetown University.
Established in 1952, the Specialty Food Association has 3,200 entrepreneurial members and stages the Fancy Food Shows.