Jan 302023
 

January 30, 2023
To: RDD Associates Valued Client Partners
From: Bob Cignarella
RE: James Perillo Announcement

I am very pleased to announce that effective February 1, 2023, James Perillo will be promoted to RDD Vice President of Frozen Foods & Produce and continues to serve as a vital member of the RDD Leadership Team.

James joined RDD in January 2021 and has served in as Director of Business Development for Fresh Foods & Produce and Business Manager responsible for several clients. When Bob Bollbach retired in 2022, James seamlessly assimilated into the role of Director of Sales for Frozen and Produce and has continued to serve as Business Manager on several client lines. 

As Division Vice President, James’ primary responsibility is to direct, manage and grow sales for RDD’s portfolio of Frozen and Produce client brands. James will report directly to me.

Please join me in congratulating James on his new position!

Thank you,
Bob Cignarella, President & CEO

Oct 112022
 

August 16, 2022
To: RDD Associates Valued Client Partners
From: Bob Cignarella
RE: Al Spinazzola Announcement


Dear Valued Clients,
It is my pleasure to announce that Al Spinazzola has joined RDD Associates as Business Manager –
Dairy. This management position is responsible for providing business management direction and
services for RDD client businesses, and will work closely with the RDD senior leadership, to include SVP/
General Manager Larry Thennes, and Vice President – Fresh Chris Vuono, on business growth strategies
for RDD’s client brands. In addition, Al will collaborate with Vinny Reddy on customer headquarters
responsibilities at King Kullen supermarkets.

Al is a highly visible and widely admired grocery industry professional, with broad career assignments in
store management, procurement, merchandising and department leadership at King Kullen Grocery
Company. Starting with his first position as a Deli Clerk, and quickly promoted to Deli Manager, Al has
consistently shown a keen interest and business savvy for best-in-class perishable foods merchandising.
Al served as King Kullen’s Director – Dairy/Deli for over a decade, and most recently, as Boar’s Head’s
Senior Director of Business Development in the region.

Al is a Long Island native and resides in Port Jefferson Station with his wife Lisa. When not working, Al
enjoys traveling to visit his daughters Alicia and Marissa, gourmet cooking with an Italian flair, golfing,
hosting friends and family, and of course, a good cigar. Not unexpectedly, Al is an avid and resilient New
York sports fan, always optimistic that this is the year that his beloved Jets, Mets, and/or Islanders will
deliver a winning season.

Al is based at the RDD headquarters in Totowa, NJ, and will report to Chris Vuono. His email address is
aspinazzola@rddassociates.com .

Please join me in welcoming Al to the RDD family!

Best regards,
Bob Cignarella, President & CEO

Mar 152022
 

 

March 1, 2022

To: RDD Associates and RDD Southeast Valued Client Partners

From: Bob Cignarella

RE:  Elia Persico Announcement

Dear Valued Clients,

It is my pleasure to announce that Elia Persico will be joining the RDD Associates as Business Manager – Frozen. This management position is responsible for providing business management direction and services for several significant RDD client businesses, and closely collaborating with the RDD Frozen senior leadership, to include Vice President Bob Bollbach, and Director of Sales James Perillo, on business growth strategies for RDD’s existing client brands.

Elia is an admired retail food industry professional, with a 10-year career of procurement, merchandising and category management assignments at Wakefern Food Corporation’s Dairy/Frozen Division. Elia started her career in the brokerage industry, working as an onsite customer replenishment and business administrator. Most recently, Elia has served as a field Account Executive for a national specialty foods brokerage firm. Among her recognized accomplishments at Wakefern, was to identify and capitalize on emerging frozen foods business trends, by engaging, on-boarding and stewarding innovative supplier brands.

Elia is a graduate of Montclair State University, where she received a B.S. in Business Marketing & Management. Elia is a New Jersey native, and resides in Clifton. When not working, Elia enjoys traveling; sampling the region’s diverse hospitality and dining establishments, and all-things Jersey Shore.

Elia has joined RDD on March 1st, will be based at the RDD headquarters in Totowa, NJ, and will report to Bob Bollbach. Elia’s email address is epersico@rddassociates.com .

Please join me in welcoming Elia to the RDD family!

Best regards,

Bob Cignarella, President & CEO

Mar 152022
 

January 3, 2022

To: RDD Associates and RDD Southeast Valued Client Partners

From: Bob Cignarella

RE:  Mitch Cohen Announcement

Dear Valued Clients,

It is my pleasure to announce that Mitchell Cohen will be joining RDD Associates as Business Manager – Dairy. This management position is responsible for providing business management direction and services for several significant RDD client businesses, and closely collaborating with the RDD Dairy senior leadership to include Senior Vice President/General Manager Larry Thennes and Vice President – Dairy Jim Nebgen, on business growth strategies for RDD’s existing client brands.

Mitch is an accomplished and recognized retail food industry professional, with a 30-year career of progressive procurement and merchandising assignments at several Metro New York supermarket operators. Mitch started and scaled his career at A&P, working to become a Store Manager and later a Category Manager. Most recently, Mitch has served as Own Brands Sales Manager at Kings/Balducci’s Supermarkets where he managed both Frozen and Dairy products categories.

Mitch is a graduate of St. John’s University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sports Management and a minor in Business Administration. Mitch, his wife Jennifer and their three teenage children, Jillian, Zachary and Harrison, reside in Yorktown Heights, NY. When not working or parenting, Mitch is a loyal New York sports fan, suffering equal frustration from his beloved Mets, Islanders, Knicks and Giants.

Mitch has joined RDD today, January 3rd, will be based at the RDD headquarters in Totowa, NJ, and will report to Larry Thennes. Mitch’s email address is mcohen@rddassociates.com .

Please join me in welcoming Mitch to the RDD family!

Best regards,

Bob Cignarella, President & CEO

Mar 152022
 

January 1, 2022

Excerpt from Food Trade News, January 2022 issue

Metro Beat by Kevin Gallagher

RE: RDD & Village Supermarkets’ Event at Bin 37

 Kudos to Bob Cignarella and his team at RDD Associates as well as the Sumas family and their team at Village Supermarkets on a recent gathering at Bin 37 located at the ShopRite of Greater Morristown. The two groups came together to celebrate not only the season and friendships, but to recognize the efforts of the Sumas Family Foundation, which was started in 2019 to help local charities such as ALS, Autism Speaks, the Valeria Fund, Connie Dwyer Breast Cancer Foundation and several more, and has been doing tremendous charitable work. Also, it was the first time that Bin 37 was open for celebration since the pandemic started. (It had recently been used to administer vaccinations and booster shots!). A great time was had by all and there was agreement from all parties to continue the good work of the Sumas Family Foundation.

Mar 152022
 

January 13, 2021

To: RDD Associates and RDD Southeast Valued Client Partners

From: Bob Cignarella

RE:  Jerilyn Atkinson, Taylor Riccio Announceme

Dear Valued Clients,

It is my pleasure to announce two RDD associate promotions for well-deserved employees.

Jerilyn Atkinson is promoted to Business Manager – Dairy/Frozen. Jerilyn is among RDD’s longest tenured employees, and is recognized by multiple stakeholders – customer partners, client partners and RDD staff, for providing outstanding levels of service delivered with genuine passion and empathy. Starting in Retail Supervision, and working her way across product divisions, she has most recently served as RDD’s Wakefern Account Manager in Deli/Foodservice. She has earned this opportunity to expand her career and will continue to provide positive performance impact on the client brands under her management. Jerilyn will report to Larry Thennes and Bob Bollbach.

Taylor Riccio is promoted to Account Manager – Wakefern Deli/Foodservice. Taylor has served for the past two years as RDD’s procurement analyst at Wakefern, providing critical replenishment services for our deli and foodservice client brands. In a relatively short time, he has built a reputation for accurate, timely and hands-on service, garnering recognition from Wakefern and client managers alike. Prior to his most recent role, Taylor served as an RDD Retail Merchandiser, learning the important business basics out in the field. Jerilyn will thoughtfully transition her responsibilities to Taylor, and Taylor will report to Bill Isaacs.

Please join me in congratulating Jerilyn and Taylor on their promotions!

Best regards,

Bob Cignarella, President & CEO

Mar 152022
 

January 12, 2021

To: RDD Associates and RDD Southeast Valued Client Partners

From: Bob Cignarella

RE:  James Perillo Announcement

Dear Valued Clients,

It is my pleasure to announce that James Perillo will be joining RDD Associates as Director Business Development – Fresh Foods & Produce. This management position is responsible for providing business management direction and services for several significant RDD client businesses, and closely collaborating with the RDD Fresh Foods and Produce management, to include Vice President Fresh Foods Chris Vuono, Director Sales Fresh Foods Mike Huberfeld, and Director Produce Jim Regan, on business growth strategies for existing client brands.

 

James is an accomplished retail food industry professional, with an 8-year career of progressive procurement and merchandising assignments at Wakefern Food Corporation. His experience includes assignments in perishables analytics, deli/foodservice/seafood procurement, produce sales and category management, and for the past two years has served as Product Manager – Fresh Foods in Wakefern’s expanding Own Brands division. Prior to joining Wakefern, James worked for Village Super Markets, performing a variety of roles in several of their largest stores. James was recruited to Wakefern and participated in their exclusive Leader in Training program.

James is a graduate of Marist College, where he received a B.S. in Business Administration and Marketing. He resides in Somerville, NJ with his girlfriend JoJo and their 8 year old Yorkie, Diplo!

James will join the organization on  January 18th, will be based at the RDD headquarters in Totowa, NJ, and will report to Chris Vuono. James’ email address is jperillo@rddassociates.com .

Please join me in welcoming James to the RDD family!

Best regards,

Bob Cignarella, President & CEO

Feb 252020
 

For your awareness, RDD is entering our 3rd year of fielding our perishables-focused sales agency services in the Southeast region.  I’m pleased to share that our client brand portfolio and overall sales results continue to accelerate as our reputation for providing clients with hands-on stewardship, experienced counsel and solid customer penetration continues to grow.  RDD Southeast is solidly positioned for significant expansion in 2020, and we remain one of the few perishables-exclusive sales agencies in the region.

It’s with great personal pleasure, and a modest dose of regret, that I announce the upcoming retirement of Joe Cervantes, who has served as General Manager of RDD Southeast since our founding in December, 2017.  Joe has been a highly visible and widely recognized thought leader in the dairy industry, a highly valued RDD advocate, a trusted advisor and great friend to me for several decades.  Since relocating to the Charlotte area to lead our expansion into the Southeast, Joe has worked tirelessly to build retailer support for our clients’ initiatives and RDD’s foundational service platform.  We are grateful that he will remain on staff in an advisory role into his retirement.

It’s my pleasure to announce that Jay Henderson will be joining RDD Southeast in a managerial capacity, effective February 4th.  Jay is an accomplished, seasoned and admired sales leader, with over 35 years experience in the retail food sales industry.  He brings to the RDD Southeast organization extensive CPG product knowledge, perishables expertise and brand management experience.  Jay’s list of grocery retailer experience includes Harris Teeter, Publix, Food Lion, Ingles, MDI, Lowes, The Fresh Market, Food City and SEG.  Jay began his career in the food industry with Kraft USA, before redirecting towards the brokerage industry.  Over his brokerage career, Jay has served in front-line managerial roles with sales agencies, including Advantage, Alliance and CROSSMARK.  Jay is a graduate of University of North Carolina – Charlotte, and resides in Charlotte, NC with his wife, Beth.

Jay will be based at the RDD Southeast office in Charlotte, NC, and will report to Dan Cignarella, RDD Senior Vice President.  Jay’s email address will be jhenderson@RDDSoutheast.com

Please join me in congratulating Joe for his extraordinary career of service, and welcome Jay to the RDD family!

Best regards,

Bob   

Jul 122019
 

It is my pleasure to announce that Chris Vuono will be joining RDD Associates as Director of Business Development — Fresh Foods & Produce. This senior leadership position is responsible for managing several significant RDD client businesses, and closely collaborating with the RDD Fresh Foods and Produce Directors, Mike Huberfeld and Jim Regan, and Bob Weinmann, on new client engagements.

Chris is an accomplished CPG sales, marketing and procurement professional. Throughout his accomplished career, Chris has directed his energies and innovative thinking to identify business development and merchandising opportunities and mobilize collaboration among client/manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers to deliver superior sales results. Chris spent 18 years at Wakefern Food Corp. progressing through a variety of procurement departments and category management roles, to include perishables assignments in Dairy/Deli, Produce and Meat. Most recently, Chris has served as Senior Director of Sales & Customer Development at Crossmark, responsible for directing client brand sales to supermarket customers across the Metro New York, Mid-Atlantic and New England markets.

Chris is a graduate of Adelphi University, and resides in Red Bank, NJ with his wife Mary Ellen, and his two children, Annmarie and Matthew.

Chris will join the organization on June 17th as a member of the senior leadership staff. He will be reporting to Bob Weinmann.

Please join us to welcome Chris into the RDD family!

Regards,
Bob Cignarella

Chris Vuono, Director of Business Development – Fresh Foods & Produce

May 062019
 
It is our pleasure to announce that John Hamm will be joining the RDD/Pro-Star sales agency as Team Leader – Ahold USA. This senior leadership position is responsible for providing effective stewardship and accountability for our agency’s broad portfolio of business under management at Ahold USA. Throughout his accomplished career in the retail food and CPG industries, John has been directed his energies and passion to identify business development and merchandising opportunities at Ahold brands, and mobilize genuine collaboration among client/manufacturers, Ahold merchandising management and agency resources, to deliver superior sales results. Most recently, John has served as Vice President of Sales for Acosta Sales and Marketing, responsible for managing their central Pennsylvania sales office and their client business activation across Ahold Delhaize brands and other Mid-Atlantic customers, including Weis, Acme, Safeway, and C&S.

John will join the organization on May 6th and will be based at the Pro-Star headquarters in New Freedom, PA. John will report to Randy Holland, President of the Star Group and General Manager of Pro-Star and with a dotted line reporting relationship to Dan Cignarella, SVP Business Development of RDD Associates. Effective May 6th John’s email address will be jhamm@starsm.com If you have any questions, please reach out to your RDD Business Manager or to Dan at dcignarella@rddassociates.com

Please join us to welcome John into the RDD/Pro-Star family!