Billerud Appoints Ivar Vatne as CEO, President
The board of Billerud has appointed Ivar Vatne as president and CEO. Vatne has been acting president and CEO since July 2023 and enters the permanent position with immediately.
“The board has conducted a thorough recruitment process and has evaluated both internal and external candidates,” said Jan Svensson, chairman. “We are very pleased that Ivar is willing to take on the job and it shows real strength that we find the best candidate within the company.
“Ivar is a highly appreciated leader, and he has deep knowledge about the company’s strategic direction. He has also proved that he understands the importance of continuous improvements to secure competitiveness, and has the ability to drive them.”
Vatne started as CFO in Billerud in May 2019. He was appointed feputy CEO in October 2022. Since July, he has been the acting president and CEO of Billerud. Vatne has a background from senior positions within Arla, Fiskars and P&G.
“I’m both happy and proud that the board gives me the confidence to continue in the role as president and CEO,” Vatne said. “Billerud is a company with great potential and fantastic employees. I look forward to continuing the work of releasing that potential.”
Billerud is a world leading company in high-performing paper and packaging materials – passionately committed to sustainability, quality and customer value. It serves customers in more than 100 countries with nine production facilities in Sweden, the United States and Finland.
Billerud provides paper and packaging materials that challenge conventional packaging for a sustainable future. It is a world leading company in high-performing paper and packaging materials made from virgin fiber. The company has nine production units in Sweden, USA, and Finland with around 6,100 employees in over 13 countries and customers in over 100 countries. Billerud has an annualized turnover of approximately SEK 42,6 billion and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.
For more news of interest in the specialty food industry, subscribe to Gourmet News.
Giant Food Earns Top Score From Human Rights Campaign Foundation
Giant Food, the leading greater Washington, D.C. regional grocery chain, has received a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2023 Corporate Equality Index, the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality. Giant Food joins the ranks of over 545 major U.S. businesses that also earned top marks this year.
“Giant Food is extremely proud to have earned a score of 100 for the fifth consecutive year on the Corporate Equality Index for the practices we have established to foster and support a diverse and inclusive workplace for our LGBTQ+ team members,” said Brian Wanner, vice president of human resources at Giant Food. “We are committed to embracing and advancing a workplace that represents and celebrates the cultures, backgrounds and experiences of our team members and communities helping create a culture in which we can all grow, care and belong.”
Giant has consistently worked to implement and advance a range of programs, policies and practices to promote inclusivity and diversity. Just this year, the company has introduced or expanded upon several training, education, employee benefit and partnership efforts including:
- Ongoing Gender Inclusivity training for all employees
- Creation of employee LGBTQ+ Benefits Guide
- Creation of employee Gender Transition Guidelines
- Added Restroom Guidelines signage
- Addition of employee pronouns to name and security badges
- Involvement in regional Pride celebrations including Washington, D.C. and Baltimore
“For well over two decades, businesses have played an important role in furthering LGBTQ+ equality by centering employee needs and voices when it comes to workplace inclusion. While there is much more work to be done, year-over-year growth in CEI participation is evidence of a business community that recognizes the responsibility and value in upholding equity and inclusion,” said RaShawn “Shawnie” Hawkins, Human Rights Campaign Sr Director of Workplace Equality.
“Our goal at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation is to work in a spirit of partnership with companies, providing educational resources and leading benchmarking, and collaborating on ways for businesses to support the LGBTQ+ community at a time when we face unprecedented legislative attacks, heightened anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and physical violence. The CEI is an ever-evolving tool – a blueprint that companies can use to show up more effectively in supporting their LGBTQ+ employees and their families.”
The results of the 2023-2024 CEI showcase how U.S.-based companies are promoting LGBTQ+ friendly workplace policies in the United States and abroad. The first year of the CEI included 319 participants, and the 2023-2024 CEI now includes 1,384 participants; further demonstrating the tremendous trajectory of the CEI, a record-breaking 1,340 businesses have non-discrimination protections specific to gender identity, up from just 17 in 2002.
These critical non-discrimination protections cover 21 million employees in the U.S. and around the globe. Giant Food’s efforts in satisfying all the CEI’s criteria earned a score of 100 and the designation as recipient of the Equality 100 Award: Leader in LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion.
The CEI rates employers providing these crucial protections to over 20 million U.S. workers and an additional 18 million outside of the U.S. Companies rated in the CEI include Fortune magazine’s 500 largest publicly traded businesses, American Lawyer magazine’s top 200 revenue-grossing law firms (AmLaw 200), and hundreds of publicly and privately held mid- to large-sized businesses.
The CEI rates companies on detailed criteria falling under four central pillars:
- Non-discrimination policies across business entities;
- Equitable benefits for LGBTQ+ workers and their families;
- Supporting an inclusive culture; and,
- Corporate social responsibility.
The full report is available online at https://www.hrc.org/resources/corporate-equality-index.
For more news of interest to the grocery industry, subscribe to Gourmet News.
United Supermarkets Offers Rewards! Members More Savings
With its Fresher for Longer loyalty campaign, United Supermarkets is saving its guests money, keeping food fresh and reducing food waste. The division of Albertsons Companies, Inc., operators of stores under the banners of United Supermarkets, Albertsons, Market Street and Amigos, is offering its Rewards! members the opportunity to earn extra benefits with every shopping visit.
In addition to earning points redeemable for free groceries and discounts on food and fuel, guests are earning digital stamps redeemable for MasterChef Food Storage products through a partnership with tcc Global, a leading loyalty program solution provider.
From now through Jan. 16, Rewards! members earn one MasterChef digital stamp for every qualifying $10 spent. The digital stamps are redeemable through Jan. 30 for free MasterChef branded food storage containers ranging in price from $7.99 to $18.99. Seven different size containers are offered and guests are encouraged to collect the full range.
“The United Family of Stores is known for its outstanding fresh offering and overall value to our guests. Providing MasterChef Food Storage containers absolutely free as a reward for shopping supports our core value proposition in both of those areas,” said Tony Crumpton Chief Merchandising/Marketing Officer, The United Family. “Guests appreciate that we are providing a high-quality reward that helps them save money while reducing food waste.”
The Fresher for Longer campaign includes a digital mobile game that shoppers can play each and every day. Accessible through the United Family of Stores apps and websites, guests can win instant prizes of free supplier-funded products, bonus digital stamps and MasterChef Food Storage containers.
Each game play also earns guests an entry to a sweepstakes with the grand prize winner winning a three-course dinner for six prepared and hosted by MasterChef contestant and chef Bri Baker. The cost of the dinner is fully covered including the food, venue and travel costs for the winner and their guests.
“The Fresher for Longer campaign is brilliant positioning by United. In an inflationary environment with rising interest rates, consumers are looking for ways to save money and stretch their food dollars. Linking these needs to the environmental concern of reducing food waste shows that United really understands and appreciates its loyal guests,” said Dan Dmochowski, President of North America for tcc Global.
In its 107th year of operation, United Supermarkets, LLC – d.b.a. The United Family® – is a Texas-based grocery chain with stores in 54 communities in Texas and New Mexico. A self-distributing company with headquarters and distribution centers in Lubbock, The United Family currently operates 98 stores under five unique banners: United Supermarkets, Market Street, Amigos, Albertsons Market, and United Express, along with ancillary operations R.C. Taylor Distributing, USM Manufacturing, United Food and Beverage Services and Llano Logistics. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Albertsons Companies, Inc.
tcc Global is a multinational marketing company specializing in creating loyalty platforms and campaigns that change the way shoppers think, act and feel. In a fast-paced retail environment which continues to be disrupted by increasing consumer choice, technology and innovation, customer loyalty remains a significant driver as the link between emotional resonance and transactional reward.
For more news of interest to the grocery industry, subscribe to Gourmet News.
