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Our People
Ernest L. Groeb
CEO
Ernie started beekeeping at the age of 12. He worked with his father and brother to build a beekeeping operation to pay for his college degree. Ernie graduated from Ferris State College in 1977, with a degree in Marketing and discovered that the real life degree was still to come! He has worked every job within the Groeb Farms' operation. Ernie was the full time sales and financial resource for GFI in the early days. He currently is the CEO and chief bottle washer at GFI.
Troy Groeb
VP Operations
Troy sold his 1st crop of honey at age 7 in Cut Comb containers with his brother and father. He started running bees in Florida at the age of 14 and was driving semi loads of bees to Florida at age 16. Troy graduated from Onsted High School. For a while after he ran bees in FL, WI, and MI full time, he started processing honey in Belleview, FL and managing that location in 1988. Troy became an active drummer and sat in with such bands as Foghat, Pat Travers, George Thorogood and several others. During his days as a drummer, he met an unknown person who turned out to be Larry the Cable Guy. Along with his father, Ernest L. Groeb Jr., and brother, Ernest L. Groeb, and a lot of hard work by all three, Troy helped grow Groeb Farms, Inc. to be the largest honey company in the USA.
Jack Irvin
VP/CFO
Jack's primary responsibilities are the financial and administrative areas at GFI. He joined the company in early 2008. Jack has over 20 years of senior management experience in the food industry. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting with a minor in Finance from Pennsylvania State University. In addition to the food industry his career includes time and experience in public accounting, metal processing and the coal industries. Jack is a CPA and belongs to the Pennsylvania and Maryland Institutes for CPA's.
Jim McCoy
Director of Retail Sales
Jim has over 15 years of experience as a National Sales Manager for both Private Label and Branded honey. He has a strong CPG Management and Food Broker background overseeing both the national and regional class of trade. Jim has personally called on most of the Grocery Retail, Wholesale, Mass, Dollar, and Drug class of trade. With category management experience ranging from product development to product placement, he helps Groeb Farms meet the goal of helping customers develop, build and grow their honey sales.
Michael Modjeski
Vice President Foodservice/Club Store Sales
Mike became the Director of Foodservice Sales for GFI in 2009. In his role he has managed the Groeb Farms' Foodservice Sales Team, expanded his responsibilities to take on Club Stores, and plays an integral part in developing and implementing the Foodservice Operating and Strategic Plan. Mike brings Groeb Farms a wealth of knowledge and experience. He has over 22 years of Food Industry experience, primarily in the Foodservice segment. He had background with Sabatasso Foods/ Regional Sales Mgr., Chef America/ Regional Mgr., Nestle/ National Sales Mgr. - Deli Division and Yuctan Foods/ National Sales Mgr., brings.
Craig Moore
Vice President Industrial Sales
Craig joined Groeb Farms in January 2008 with over 17 years of experience in the food industry. He is responsible for all Industrial Sales throughout the United States as well as internationally. Craig is responsible for working with the existing customer base, managing the Regional Sales Managers and Industrial Broker network, and continuing the growth of Groeb Farms' presence in the Industrial honey market. Prior to joining Groeb Farms, Craig was Director of Specialty Products at Imperial Sugar Company. Craig holds a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering from The Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master of Business Administration from Georgia Southern University.
Joyce Schlachter
Vice President Technical Services
Joyce's responsibilities include technical support for the sales and purchasing teams, and quality control leadership for each of GFI's four processing plants, as well as the quality assurance laboratory. She has been with Groeb Farms since 2005, where most recently she has provided the direction required to achieve BRC certification for the Onsted and Belleview locations. She will continue this commitment to quality control with the goal of all plants acquiring BRC certification in 2011. Joyce travels the world visiting raw honey supplier's and carries GFI's quality message and requirements to them. Groeb Farms' criteria includes 100% traceability of the raw honey product and supplier records are checked on site to verify source. Prior to this position, Joyce gained 15 years of career experience in quality control leadership. She has a BS in Food Science from Michigan State University.
Jodi Sullivan
Chief Strategy Officer
Jodi is responsible for Strategy, Special Project Management, Marketing/Communications, PR and
Public Affairs for the business. She has been with Groeb Farms since 2009. Jodi joined the company with several years of experience as an Executive and Business Consulting Partner in the areas of Strategy, Business Process Improvement, Project Management, Mergers and Acquisitions, Technology Implementations, Change Management, Communications and HR. She has a BA in General Business from Michigan State University. Jodi is a team player and keeps the end customer in mind. She works to identify continual improvement opportunities within the business that create process efficiencies and effectiveness to benefit both Groeb Farms and the Customer. If Ernie is the chief cook and bottle washer, Jodi is the janitor and picks-ups and cleans-up whatever needs to be done!
Alison Tringale
Chief Procurement Officer
Alison joined Groeb Farms in 2010. She is responsible for the procurement of all honey, packaging, and indirect products and services for Groeb Farms. Her focus is on total cost of ownership and quality. Prior to joining Groeb Farms, Alison was an Executive with Accenture's Sourcing and Procurement Management Consulting Practice. Alison also spent time with Quaker Oats and PepsiCo as a Commodities and Ingredients Buyer. She has a B.S. in Food Science from the University of Illinois. Not only does Alison enjoy the honey business at GFI, she is a backyard beekeeper. In her spare time, Alison enjoys water sports, golf, volleyball, and spending time with her family.