Bell Flavors & Fragrances Unveils New Executive Leadership Appointments at Global Headquarter in Northbrook, IL
Bell U.S. Strengthens Strategic Vision for the Future of Flavor Possibilities
NORTHBROOK, Illinois – May 21, 2024 – Bell Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. (Bell) is proud to announce strategic executive leadership changes within the company’s U.S. Flavor and Quality Compliance, Operational Excellence and Environmental Health & Safety divisions at its global headquarter in Northbrook, IL.
“Congratulations on all well-deserved promotions at Bell Flavors & Fragrances. I thank these experts for their leadership and look forward to their continued success as they inspire Bell employees to uphold total customer satisfaction,” exclaims Ron Stark, President & CEO.
Cody Heinz has been promoted to Vice President of U.S. Flavor Sales at Bell’s headquarter in Northbrook, IL. Since joining Bell in September 2012, Cody has held positions with increased responsibility, most recently serving as the Director of U.S. Flavor Sales.
In his new leadership role, Cody will drive the strategic direction of and oversee Bell’s Flavor Sales division, with a continued focus on growth and performance through all stages of the customer experience.
Cody earned his undergraduate degree from Miami University and Master of Business Administration degree from the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. He is actively involved in the flavors and fragrances industry and holds a variety of professional appointments, such as being part of the National Confectioners Association’s (NCA) 2024 Class of Future Leaders, 2025 Western Candy Conference Chairman and serving as a committee member for the Flavor Extract Manufacturers Association, NCA and more.
Justin Kozlowski has been promoted to Vice President and Commercial General Manager of Flavors at Bell’s headquarter in Northbrook, IL. He joined Bell in June 2023, previously serving as the Vice President of Beverage, Flavor Creation & Application.
In this new role, Justin will manage Bell’s Flavor Sales, Creation, Application and Administration teams. He will ensure that Bell’s go-to-market strategy is executed with excellence, bringing targeted consumers closer to our customers’ brands through superior flavor experiences.
Justin earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from DePaul University, a Master of Science degree in Food Science from the University of Illinois and a Master of Business Administration degree from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. As a Certified Flavorist, he has been in the flavor industry for 20 years and is currently active as a Society of Flavor Chemists board member.
Mike Smith has been promoted to Vice President of Flavors and Fragrances, Quality Compliance, Operational Excellence and Environmental Health & Safety. Mike has been with Bell since July 2020, previously serving as the Senior Director of Manufacturing at Bell’s Middletown, NY facility. He will now be based in Northbrook, IL.
In his new role, Mike assumes executive leadership and is responsible for overseeing and developing strategies, policies and procedures for Bell’s Quality Compliance, Operational Excellence and Environmental Health and Safety teams.
Additionally, Mike will be responsible for maintaining relevant sustainability and quality management certifications and ensure ongoing compliance with local and federal food, chemical and occupational safety regulations.
Mike earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and History from the University of Notre Dame and his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. He is both HACCP and PCQI-certified.
Kenneth Beecher has been promoted to Director of Manufacturing at Bell’s Middletown, NY site. Kenneth has been with Bell since 2018, previously serving as the Associate Director of Manufacturing since 2022.
In his new role, Kenneth will manage all safety, quality and service goals in accordance with Bell policies, SQF standards and government regulations.
He’ll also lead the Middletown team as an active member of Bell’s Food Defense, HAACP, GMP, Food Safety and Quality Development and Recall teams while ensuring that departments ranging from Inventory Control to Quality Systems operate at peak performance.
Please join Bell Flavors & Fragrances in celebrating these noteworthy career achievements, as they deepen the company’s strategic mindset and expertise, and further propel Bell’s commitment to efficiency, quality and excellence for the company’s global customers.
About Bell Flavors & Fragrances:
Bell Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. is a leading supplier of flavors, fragrances, botanical extracts and ingredient specialties to the food and beverage industry, as well as the household care and personal care industries, offering over 110 years of exceptional customer service and experience. Bell has 11 manufacturing plants worldwide including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Germany, India, Singapore, and China, with sales offices in more than 90 countries. Bell’s global presence allows flexibility in the world marketplace while constantly responding to emerging industry trends with solutions that bring added value and business opportunities to our customers. www.bellff.com
Bell Flavors & Fragrances – The Key Ingredient of Your Brand.™
Benjamin Stanley, CRC has been promoted to Director of Sweet Applications at Bell’s global headquarter in Northbrook, IL. In his new role, Ben will continue to grow Bell’s Sweet Dairy business and serve as lead technical support. He will also co-lead a cross-functional team leveraging Bell’s more than 110-year-long intellectual property legacy by curating internal technology capabilities and expanding them to new applications.
Vuk Levakov has been promoted to Senior Director of Beverage Applications at Bell’s global headquarter in Northbrook, IL.
Andrew Petrou has been promoted to Flavorist, Savory Lab Manager at Bell’s global headquarter in Northbrook, IL.
Melissa Scharoff has been promoted to Junior Perfumer and Fragrance Evaluation Manager at Bell’s global headquarter in Northbrook, IL.
Karen Graves has been promoted to Vice President of Shared Technical Services at Bell’s global headquarter in Northbrook, IL.
Susan Payton has been promoted to Vice President of Customer Service at Bell’s global headquarter in Northbrook, IL.
“As consumers continue to seek out unique flavors and exotic fruits, our extensive line of citrus varietals offers a way for manufacturers to provide authentic taste experiences without the hassle or expense of sourcing these hard-to-find offerings. Our team of Flavorists and Perfumers have gone to extensive lengths to provide flavors and fragrances that take consumers on a journey around the world without leaving the comfort of their homes. We are excited to bring to life an international collection of rare citrus flavors that may never see the light of day due to their short shelf life or availability,” states David Banks, Senior Director of Marketing.
Allan M. Kaplan has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer at Bell’s headquarter in Northbrook, IL. In his 10+ years with Bell, Allan has assumed positions of increased responsibilities, most recently serving as the Vice President of Finance. In his new role, he will oversee Bell’s Finance and Accounting departments, ensuring adherence to corporate accounting policies and procedures, and serve as a member of the Company’s Executive Management Committee.
Cristalle Keane takes on the position of Vice President, Sweet & Dairy; Flavor Creation & Application at Bell’s headquarter in Northbrook, IL. In this new role, she will continue to lead the Flavorist team and drive business development and innovation in sweet and dairy flavor applications.
Chris Warsow has been promoted to Vice President, Savory & Culinary; Flavor Creation, Application & Delivery Systems at Bell’s headquarter in Northbrook, IL. In his new role, Chris will develop strategies for continued growth within Bell’s savory, culinary and delivery systems platforms.
Mauro Batisteza assumes the role of Vice President, International Finance at Bell’s headquarter in Northbrook, IL. In his position, Mauro will partner closely with Bell’s international leaders to support business growth across its 60+ global locations.
Mike Barron has been promoted to Vice President, Information Technology at Bell’s headquarter in Northbrook, IL, leading all aspects of Bell’s corporate information systems and technology programs.
Renee King joins the Marketing team as a new Director of Marketing focused on the fragrance and botanicals divisions. Renee will create and execute new concepts, business models, and channels to position Bell as an innovator and leader in the flavor and fragrances industries. She will help build the Bell brand in the marketplace, activate new marketing campaigns, expand our marketing reach, enhance product development, and drive strategy around the fragrance and botanical divisions.
Sarah Campbell is Bell’s new Marketing Specialist with a focus on designing, creating, and delivering marketing programs to support expansion and growth of Bell’s services and products. Her role will be an integral part of the development and execution of marketing plans to reach targets, from brand awareness to product promotion. Sarah will work with the R&D and Application labs to prepare customer presentations.
Dirk Vogel joins Bell as the new Senior Marketing Specialist where he will manage the development and execution of projects that support Bell’s key technologies, categories, customers and internal initiatives. Dirk will work cross-functionally to develop, produce and communicate promotional and collateral materials to support sales and proactive marketing programs, while leading customer presentations to clearly communicate Bell’s flavor and fragrance division capabilities.
Lindsay Parks is Bell’s new Marketing Communications and Social Media Specialist. Lindsay will be the main point of contact for all marketing communications and social media activity, and will help manage the development and execution of Bell’s internal and external communications strategies to drive business development efforts at key customers. She will work cross-functionally to develop, produce and communicate promotional and collateral materials to support sales and proactive marketing programs.
Anna Lada joins Bell’s marketing team as a Senior Marketing Specialist. In this role, Anna will utilize secondary data and primary research to develop a deep understanding of the target consumer and leverages these insights to influence Bell’s overall marketing strategy and develop innovative products for our customers. She will help develop and implement strategies to maintain, manage, and grow internal marketing platforms and support external customers in growing their business through innovation and new product development efforts.
Antonia Federsel joins the global Marketing team and Bell family as the new Marketing Specialist in the flavor segment at Bell EMEA. In her new role at the Leipzig facility in Germany, Antonia will drive Sweet & Dairy projects and take care of cross-divisional flavor promotions such as RedSugar and the expansion of the company’s PlantFuture Platform, among others.
Leon Kuttler joins the global Marketing team and Bell family as the new Marketing Specialist in the flavor segment. Based at Bell EMEA, his role as the company’s Marketing Specialist Savory includes working with R&D and the sales team to drive the Savory business forward. Leon will use his expertise and strategic understanding, as well as his creativity, to actively shape the future of the Savory Business Unit in the EMEA region.
Jesscia Kalmring joins the global Marketing team and Bell family as the new Marketing Specialist in the fragrance segment.
Antje Wittich has been with Bell since – 2006 and took over as Head of Marketing in the EMEA region in February 2022.With her knowledge and experience in team leadership, she will drive Bell’s strategic, market-oriented development in the EMEA region together with her marketing team and push the further development of corporate communications in Europe, Middle East & Africa and Vietnam.
Lorenza Perez joins the global Marketing team as a Marketing Coordinator based in Mexico. In this role, she will be responsible for the implementing commercial strategies for the Mexico region, developing presentations, analyzing trends and research, and measuring the results of innovation initiatives, among other activities.
David Banks has been promoted to the position of Senior Marketing Director in Bell’s Northbrook headquarter. His role on the Marketing team is pivotal to creating and executing new concepts, business models and channels to drive Bell’s position as an innovation leader in the flavors and fragrances industries. In this role, he will plan marketing and branding objectives, analyze market trends and recommend marketing and business development strategies, overseeing advertising, press releases, email and social media campaigns and strategies.
Megan Paul has been promoted to the role of Sensory Scientist at Bell’s headquarter in Northbrook, Illinois. In her new role, Megan will lead Sensory work for all Flavor Technology and Internal Formula Management Projects. She will also continue leading Flavor panels to support key flavor and product development efforts.
Noor Abo Alzahb has been promoted to the position of Sales Project Manager, based out of Bell’s Northbrook headquarter. In this role, Noor will be responsible for management and growth for a segment of customer accounts as well as processing incoming requests for potential customers by screening website and telephone inquiries. She will continue to improve the Bell Flavors & Fragrances customer experience through process improvements and working directly with the Flavor and Fragrance sales teams to streamline work flow. Another key responsibility consists of developing relevant reporting. Consequently, her efforts will continue to improve sales activity and win rates. Additionally, Noor will be engaged in Sales Team projects including support for large group meetings and improving the customer experience.
Roberto Olivi is the new Vice President, Fragrance Sales for Bell Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. In his new leadership role, Roberto is responsible for designing and delivering the commercial strategies that will lead the Fragrance sales team to achieve Bell’s revenue and market growth targets, aligned with overall Fragrance Division strategy.
Marvel Fields has been promoted to take over the key role of Perfumery Director. Marvel will assume the leadership responsibilities to further develop and strengthen our creative and innovation strategies. She will also provide guidance to the Fragrance Perfumery and Botanical Labs, while continuing her responsibilities as a Senior Perfumer, as time permits. Reporting to Marvel will be the Perfumery Team and the Botanical and Fragrance Lab Management.
Rose Casanova Gugliotta expands her leadership as Director of Fragrance Evaluation and Applications. In this role, Rose will assume the additional leadership responsibilities of managing both the Fragrance Application Labs and Evaluation.
Renee King joins the Marketing team as a new Director of Marketing focused on the fragrance and botanicals divisions. Renee will create and execute new concepts, business models, and channels to position Bell as an innovator and leader in the flavor and fragrances industries. She will help build the Bell brand in the marketplace, expand our marketing reach, enhance product development, and drive strategy around the fragrance and botanical divisions.
Thom Heinz has been promoted to the position of Vice President, Vendor Management and Strategic Sourcing. In this new role, Thom will lead Global Vendor Management and Strategic Sourcing initiatives. He will proactively analyze emerging market and industry trends impacting raw material and sourcing strategies. This forward-looking approach will keep Bell F&F ahead of developing market and supply chain issues amid current changes. Thom will collaborate with Business Development and R&D to identify new approved sources of materials using innovative technologies.
Casey Schallert is the new Sr. Corporate Chef at Bell F&F, reporting directly to Chris Warsow, Sr. Director, Flavor Applications/Corporate Executive Chef. Since joining Bell 3.5 years ago, Casey has served in multiple roles with increasing responsibilities on the Culinary Applications Team. Most recently, Casey worked in the role of Corporate Chef during which she demonstrated strong commitment to cross-functional teamwork and technical expertise in flavors.
Sabrina Entwistle has been promoted to the role of Associate Director, Quality Systems. With the new position, Sabrina’s leadership role grows to include all the Quality, Continuous Improvement, and EH&S activities at the Middletown, New York, facility. A main responsibility of this key leadership position is to continue fostering our culture of continuous improvement at Middletown while embracing change management across all quality-related departments.
Ken Beecher now serves in the role of Associate Director, Manufacturing. In this new position, Ken’s leadership is expanding to include all the production activities at the Middletown, NY facility. His main focus lies with exceeding customer satisfaction goals while assuring compliance with employee safety, product quality, food safety and defense, regulatory, as well as employee conduct policies and procedures.
Mike Smith has been promoted to the position of SeniorDirector, Manufacturing-Fragrance at Middletown, NY. Mike will assume additional leadership responsibilities to develop and implement strategies, policies and procedures ensuring that the Middletown facility continues its success in operating effectively and efficiently. He will continue as the Middletown facility leader providing direction and guidance to the on-site team on a day-to-day basis. Mike will oversee continuous improvements at the Middletown facility while guiding change management.
Jake Pupillo has assumed the position of Director, Manufacturing – Flavors at the Northbrook, Illinois, facility. In this role, Jake will assume additional leadership responsibilities to develop and implement strategies, policies and procedures ensuring that the Northbrook manufacturing team embraces change management and operational efficiencies. Jake will continue his responsibilities as the Northbrook manufacturing leader providing direction and guidance to the Liquids, Spray Dry, Extractions, Dry Blending, and Reaction teams on a daily basis.
Zig Polak has been promoted to Senior Manager of Material, Planning, and Logistics – Flavors at Northbrook, IL. Zig will assume additional leadership responsibilities to develop and implement strategies, policies and procedures ensuring that the Northbrook warehouse, shipping and receiving teams operate effectively and efficiently through change management. On a day-to-day basis, Zig will continue his responsibilities as the Northbrook material, planning, and logistics leader providing direction and guidance to the warehouse, shipping, and logistics teams.
Mike Barron has received a promotion to the position of Senior Director, Information Technology. In this key role, Mike will lead the Bell Flavors & Fragrances in-house IT Technical Team in all activities, including programming, network configuration and support, as well as software evaluation, data security and integrity. His team also maintains the company’s IT help desk, and helps employees set up and maintain corporate devices such as computers, laptops and cell phones.
Allan Kaplan is the new Vice President, Finance, and will lead the Accounting Team in all activities, including financial statements, accounts receivable/payable, cash management, cost accounting, fixed assets, corporate accounting, and planning & budgeting. He will lead financial analyses of our overall global business and direct the Accounting Team in annual audit and tax preparation, insuring proper internal controls globally while evaluating pricing levels based on commodity cost movements. Allan will support the Capital Budget and spend process, secure appropriate business insurance, and oversee all other areas within the corporate financial structure.
Theresa Link has been promoted to the newly created position of Director of Cost Accounting. Theresa will lead the financial implementation of our new fully-costed product system. Theresa will also work closely with the Operations Team to evaluate specific direct labor and overhead costs assignable to each type of product produced. The team will also conduct time and motion studies as appropriate, and establish cost drivers for each product category (machine time, number of production processes, etc.) as the basis of certain cost allocations. She will also use this information to calculate appropriate Labor and Overhead rates to assign to each process.
Brian Enriquez is the new Senior Manager, Financial Reporting and Pricing at Bell Flavors & Fragrances based in Northbrook. In this role, Brian will continue to lead the pricing process on new products and formulation changes while working closely with R&D. Once the new Cost Accounting System is in place, his focus will switch from multiples of raw material cost to calculating appropriate margins on fully-absorbed product costs, including direct Labor and Overhead.
Madeleine van Overbeek has been promoted to the position of Senior Financial Analyst at the Northbrook facility. In this role, Madeleine will continue to provide analyses of the business in a variety of financial areas. Since joining Bell in 2019, Madeleine has not only performed valuable financial analyses and financial statement work, but also willingly assisted other areas of Finance when support was required.