Flowers Foods announced Leny J. Garcia-Hill has been promoted to the newly created position of vice president of diversity and recruitment. Previously, Garcia-Hill served as Flowers Foods' director of employee relations. In her new position, Garcia-Hill is responsible for further strengthening Flowers' diversity initiative and recruiting efforts.

"We recognize that our organization is strengthened by diversity," said George E. Deese, president and chief executive officer of Flowers Foods. "Our ongoing diversity strategy is a key part of our employment practices and our corporate culture. With this appointment, Leny will devote herself fulltime to the effort, which we expect will make our diversity initiative and our recruiting efforts even more successful."

A native of Honduras, Garcia-Hill has been part of Flowers' human resources team since she joined the company's New Orleans bakery in 1980. While working full time for Flowers, she obtained her bachelor's degree in business administration from Southern University at New Orleans. She then served consecutively as director of human resources of Flowers' Lafayette, La., bakery, human resources specialist at the company's corporate office, and director of employee relations for Flowers' Bakeries Group. In 2003, she was named director of employee relations for Flowers Foods, the position she held until her appointment to vice president of diversity and recruitment.