April 8/Telecommunications Weekly -- Del Monte Foods Company announced the appointment of Larry Bodner to executive vice president of finance and David Allen to executive vice president of operations.

"These appointments to expanded roles with increased responsibilities will significantly strengthen our senior leadership team and move Del Monte's execution capabilities to a higher level," said Richard G. Wolford, chairman and CEO of Del Monte Foods Company. "Larry and Dave both bring established leadership and proven capabilities to their new roles. I very much appreciate their previous accomplishments and look forward to working with them as they contribute to our future success. I am confident that today, at Del Monte, we have the right team, focused on the right strategy, to drive the company's growth and success going forward."

Bodner will continue to report directly to David Meyers, Del Monte's executive vice president of administration and chief financial officer. In addition to the functions now consolidated under Bodner, the company's Legal, Information Technology, and Internal Audit functions will continue to report directly to Meyers.

Commented Wolford, "Since joining Del Monte in 2003, Larry -- through his hard work and financial acumen -- has been a very significant contributor to our success, and has played a major role in defining and implementing Del Monte's Accelerated Growth Plan strategy. In his expanded role, Larry's strong management and financial skills as well as excellent strategic insight will provide even greater benefit as we enter the next phase of Del Monte's evolution."

Allen will continue to report directly to Nils Lommerin, Del Monte's chief operating officer. "Dave has demonstrated excellent strategic business leadership and has delivered results," said Wolford. "Under Dave's leadership, we have made significant advances to optimize our Pet operations, streamline our supply chain, and reduce inventory levels. Dave's expanded role creates a structure that will enable the Company to consolidate leadership of all operations. This integrated structure will further enhance our productivity initiatives, drive costs out of our system, and elevate our much upgraded customer service performance to higher levels across the entire portfolio."

From the April 12, 2010, Prepared Foods E-dition