Food Product Development - Food Flavors- Flavor Company: David Michael Flavors

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The Strategic Alliance Advisory Board

The Strategic Alliance Advisory Board (SAAB) was formed in 1994 by David Michael Co. to help address the food industry’s movement towards Select Supplier programs. The mission of the board is to strengthen current corporate partnerships and develop, cultivate and nurture new, mutually rewarding strategic alliances. The SAAB has proven to be a dynamic resource for David Michael, providing insights into the needs of food companies and advising on programs we develop to strategically meet these needs.

Members of the SAAB board are invited by David Michael to join based on prior experience within a specific segment of the food industry. We select individuals who are distinguished, retired executives in a variety of functional areas including Research & Development, Procurement, Marketing and Quality. Currently there are six members of the SAAB board.

Al Clausi
Dr. Robert E. Smith
Dr. Gabrielle Korab
Dr. Myron Feinstein
Dr. Charlie Cante
Dr. Steve Young
Don Finch

Al Clausi

Al is the former Director of Research & Development at Kraft General Foods. In total Al spent 41 years with the company. He is famous within the food industry for his many innovations including Jell-O® Instant Pudding, Pop Rocks® and Gainsburgers®. Al served as President of the IFT from 1993 – 1994 and has received many awards including IFT’s highest honor, the Nicholas Appert Award for his contributions to food technology. Al currently works as a consultant for food manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and food research and development companies. He has been part of the SAAB since October 1994.

Dr. Robert E. Smith

Dr. Smith retired as Head of R&D at Nabisco to assume the IFT Presidency. Prior to his work at Nabisco, Dr. Smith served as Senior Vice President for the Del Monte Corporation and Vice president for both Swift and Company and Quaker Oats. He is currently the President of R E Smith Consulting, Inc and an adjunct Professor of Food Science at the University of Illinois. Dr. Smith has been part of the SAAB since March 1999.

Dr. Gabrielle Korab

A former Vice President of Kraft General Foods and President of the Dessert Division, Gabrielle is originally from Hungary and has a strong knowledge of international markets and trends. Gabrielle was also a Senior Vice President at the global advertising agency Young and Rubicam. Gabrielle has been a SAAB member June 1997.

Dr. Myron Feinstein

Dr. Feinstein has a strong background in supply chain logistics and strategy with history at both Unilever Europe and North America. Dr. Feinstein initiated strategic alliances for Unilever North America and served as Project Director for Unilever’s first strategic initiative. He has been an executive consultant for the past decade, and fills a critical gap in the combined backgrounds of the SAAB members. Dr Feinstein joined as a member of SAAB in May 2008.

Dr. Charlie Cante

A retired Research & Development Executive from Kraft, Dr. Cante specialized in Quality Control. During his last several years at Kraft, Dr. Cante served in purchasing and was a chief architect of their SSA (strategic supplier alliance) program, one of the first in the industry. Dr. Cante has been a member of the SAAB since July 1996.

Dr. Steve Young

Dr. Young most recently served as Director of Ingredient Applications at Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM). Prior to that he was Director of R&D at Dreyers / Edy’s Grand Ice Cream and Associate Director of R&D at Quaker Oats Co. Dr. Young has an extremely strong and diverse background in the food industry. Currently, he is a principal in Tharp & Young “On Ice Cream,” a series of short courses and workshops that focus on current and emerging ice cream and frozen dessert technologies. Dr. Young has been a SAAB member since October 1994.

Don Finch

Don is the newest member of SAAB. He is recently retired after 35+ years in the flavor business having worked in various sales, sales and general management positions. Most recently he was Vice President of Sales North America for Cargill Flavor Systems headquartered in Cincinnati. Don became a member of SAAB in August 2009.