In Memory of Fritzi Woods

Posted by IFMA September 20, 2013

Tagged in Foodservice Leaders

We were immensely saddened to hear that Fritzi Woods, Women's Foodservice Forum (WFF) President and CEO died unexpectedly in Dallas on September 18, 2013.

Woods was an influential regional and national business woman. For the past three years she led the Women's Foodservice Forum, the largest leadership development company in the foodservice industry. Woods and the WFF worked with the country's largest foodservice organizations advocating for women's leadership development. More recently she began working with the Obama administration to advocate for policies promoting gender-balanced executive teams. Woods served as a board member for several organizations, including Jamba Juice, Ignite Restaurant Group, National Restaurant Association, BUCA and Lone Star New Market.

On behalf of IFMA and our community of members, we are grateful to Fritzi for the leadership and inspiration she brought to the foodservice industry. She will be greatly missed.

Subscribe Now

Aug 08

Marketing & Sales Leaders Forum

The annual IFMA Marketing & Sales Leaders Forum focuses on marketing and sales collaboration, providing these professionals the means to apply actionable insights and best practices to work together to improve both strategic planning and go-to-market execution.

The program serves to unravel the complexities of the foodservice landscape, delivering powerful insights into the consumer, operator and distributor communities, as well as communicating how to best utilize the available tools for improved collaboration and tactical go-to-market execution.

UniPro Foodservice Announces the Appointment of Robert Stewart as CEO

Atlanta, GA (October 23, 2015) - Bruce Kern II, President of C.A. Curtze Food Service of Erie, PA and Chairman of the Board of UniPro Foodservice, Inc., announced the appointment of Robert Stewart as UniPro’s CEO. The announcement was made last week to its membership at UniPro’s Fall Purchasing Conference in Atlantic City, NJ. Stewart joined UniPro in 2014 as the company’s COO and has been serving as interim CEO since April 2015.

Taming the Wild, Wild West-Part 2-Sell-side Case Study

Not all fresh commodities are treated the same when it comes to price stability. Some less traded items (like fruits, vegetables and seafood) can have price swings that move 500 percent or more over a 24-48 hour period. This can create havoc for sellers whose customers depend on them to bring quality products at predictable prices. This article shares how one fresh food seller is taming the wild, wild west of fresh food market volatility through web-based analytic software.

John Koncki from CKE Restaurants Gets May's SMB Call Fired Up

Every month, IFMA's Small & Midsized Business (SMB) community hosts a discussion with industry experts, trading partners or operator customers. In May, John Koncki, Director of R&D at CKE Restaurants, joined the SMB community call, discussing how small and midsized businesses can work with the restaurant chain.

John Koncki from CKE Restaurants to Join May's SMB Call

Every month, IFMA's Small & Midsized Business (SMB) community hosts a discussion with industry experts, trading partners or operator customers. John Koncki, Director of R&D at CKE Restaurants, will be joining the SMB community call and discussing how small and midsized businesses can work with the restaurant chain.

Driving Consumer Demand

The $683 billion restaurant industry is mature; however, there is unprecedented opportunity for innovation.

At COEX 2014, panelists from four fast-expanding chains illustrated, there is tremendous potential for and reward from innovation. All four entrepreneurs have tapped niches of consumer demand to build distinctive, well-loved brands that attract a loyal customer following. And all have prioritized people, fostering enduring connections in unique ways.

Collaboration Techniques for Menu Changes, Product Improvements and Reacting to Today’s Demanding Guests

No activity is more mission critical for restaurant operators than menu development. Poor attempts at menu development won't always mean the demise of a concept, and successful menus won't ensure business success, but the quality of menu development definitely affects a restaurant's success.

Wally Doolin to Moderate Panel at Presidents Conference, Top Operators to Offer Reactions to Conference Insights

Occasions that drive consumer choice, retaining quality employees and capital investment are areas of focus to the benefit of the foodservice industry. These insights, and others, are the subject of a recent article penned by TDn2K Chairman and Founder Wally Doolin. He will be addressing similar issues as moderator of the Closing Keynote Panel at Presidents Conference, which features executives from top operator brands and their reactions to insights conveyed during the conference.

FOCUS Brands CEO Drives Success through Consumer Experiences Aligned with Operator Brands

One of the foodservice industry's most dynamic executive leaders today is Steve DeSutter, who joined FOCUS Brands, Inc. as their president and CEO in March. Mr. DeSutter will be delivering the opening keynote address at Presidents Conference this November, which is the place where foodservice leaders come to address critical issues affecting our industry. His presentation will address how consumer experiences with operator brands are a key area of focus that leads to success.

2014 Distributor Award Winners Announced!

IFMA announced the winners of the 8th Annual Distributor Awards. The prestigious awards acknowledge distributor leadership and overall excellence within the foodservice industry. The winners will be celebrated at Presidents Conference on Nov. 2-5, 2014, co-hosted by IFMA and The International Foodservice Distributors Association (IFDA).

"This year's Distributor Award recipients are among the best in the business and we are proud to honor them." Click to read more.

Operators on Driving Supply Chain Efficiency

The foodservice supply chain matured over the past decade, with increased use of technology, more data, and improved collaboration. We asked operators to weigh in on how this has effected them.