Fermo Jaeckle has been appointed chief executive officer of Emmi-Roth Käse USA, as well as a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Jaeckle has more than 30 years experience in the cheese industry. Prior to founding Roth Käse USA in 1991, he was executive vice president of Otto Roth Co. Inc. (later Dorman-Roth Foods), a leading importer, marketer and distributor of perishable specialty cheese.

Steve McKeon has been appointed president and chief operating officer. McKeon has served as president of Roth Käse USA since the company’s inception in 1991. He has more than 40 years of experience in food marketing for retail, deli/specialty and foodservice products with more than 25 years in management for companies such as Dorman-Roth Foods, Kaukauna Cheese Co., the Royal Cake Co. and H.J. Heinz.

Steve Millard has been appointed senior vice president of sales. Millard has more than 20 years of sales experience in the consumer packaged goods industry. Prior to joining Emmi USA in 2007, he worked for The Dannon Co., where he held numerous positions within retail and foodservice sales.

Rene Weber has been appointed vice president of U.S. production and International special projects responsible for managing production; designing, developing and managing new product lines; project design and management; and quality management of imported and domestically produced goods. Weber is a Swiss Federal Master Cheese Maker and manager with more than 27 years experience in project and plant management, dairy and cheese processing, strategic planning and production technology.
 
Jim Natzke has been named vice president of operations and will continue his role as general manager of the Monroe, Wis., operation. Natzke has more than 20 years of experience in the dairy industry. His responsibilities will include developing and implementing strategies to manage domestic cheese production, logistics and the supply chain.
 
Joe Alessio has been appointed vice president of finance, controlling and IT, responsible for overseeing the accounting function in addition to the IT needs of the company. Alessio hold 16 years of experience in cheese importation/distribution.
 
Jim DeLaurentis will continue in his role as general manager of the Valley Cottage, N.Y., operation, and has been appointed a member of the executive committee. DeLaurentis has more than 35 years of experience in the cheese industry and has served as general manager since 2004. He will continue his responsibilities of license and quota management, supply chain coordination with Switzerland and sales support in cooperation with quality assurance, marketing and finance.
 
Guido Kälin has been appointed vice president of marketing, responsible for marketing strategy, the innovation pipeline and marketing and communication tactics. Kälin has been working for the Emmi Group as head of marketing-cheese division in Switzerland for the past five years.

Emmi USA and Roth Käse USA will continue to operate as separate legal entities for the foreseeable future and will be governed by a combined executive committee.
 
Contact:
Linda Funk                                                          
866/430-2590, ext. 241 

Roth Käse USA
4554 114th St.
Urbandale, Iowa
50322-5410