FIBR - Key Persons
Leong was a charter member of FIBR and has served on the Board Of Directors since then. He continues to support FIBR because it has been a very progressive organization and continues to provide business opportunities and the latest food industry regulation updates and training. He was employed by Quon Yick Noodle Co. for over 35 years manufacturing Chinese noodles.
Job Titles:
- Engineer
- President / John Pesce & Associates
John N. Pesce experienced in working for a major food company in Los Angeles. He was responsible for developing food safety programs, GMPs SSOP HACCP and Food Security employee training, supplier audits, vendor compliance and pest control.
John has over 51 years of experience in the food industry in both production and executive management capacities. For 27 of those years, he worked at a subsidiary of Kellogg's', where he developed curriculum and provided employee training in sanitation and hygiene, CGMP's, SSOPs, SPC and pest control and industrial safety. He has extensive experience in thermal processing of canned food products and was responsible for employee training in retort and orbitort operations.
He is a member of four professional organizations (AFDO) Association of Food and Drug Officials the (ASQ) American Society for Quality .and the (ASM) American Society for Microbiology and (FIBR) Food Industry Business Roundtable where He is on the Board of Directors and a trainer for CGMP's, SSOP's, GLP's and Prerequisite for HACCP. He is also a Food Defense Coordinator. He is also an Instructor Proctor for the Certified Professional Food Manager Program and is a registered ServSafe Instructor Proctor for the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) and he is a GFSI internal auditor.
Mr. Pesce is a licensed steam engineer by the City of Los Angeles. He has attended the University of California at Davis' Better Process Control School;; the American Institute of Baking for certification in Food Processing Sanitation and Hygiene; the University of Tennessee's Statistical Process Control Management for Food Processing;; and the University of Southern California's Food protection Certification Program for food plant manufacturers. He also has a certificate in Seafood HACCP. He is licensed by the structural pest control board # RA-45864 as a pest control applicator. He is also a Food Defense Bioterrorism Risk Management coordinator.
Yolk Partners, LLC is an entertainment cross media and intellectual property development and consulting firm. Kenny is also President and CEO of Imurarock Partners, a strategic consulting agency which services media and entertainment enterprises in the China region. Founded in 2008, Kenny is responsible for the firm's leadership, strategic investments, and business development.
Kenny began his early career working for Wing Hing Noodle Company, a food manufacturing business based in Los Angeles that was founded by his father, Robert Yee. Wing Hing Noodle Company started in 1978 as a "mom and pop" operation with one machine making authentic noodles for Chinese restaurants in Los Angeles. After working in all levels of the company-including business operations, sales and marketing, Kenny eventually took over the business as President in 1993. Under his visionary guidance, Wing Hing Noodle grew into one of the largest noodle manufacturers and distributors of Asian foods in the U.S., with a broad roster of clients that include PF Chang's. The Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen, Panda Express, Chili's Bar and Gill, Applebee's, Souplantation, and Yard House.
After overseeing the successful acquisition of Wing Hing Noodle Co. and Passport Food Group by the private equity group Wedbush Capital Partners. Kenny began to pursue a lifelong goal of transitioning to the media sector, forming Imurarock Partners in Shanghai.
He consulted for the ChopChops animated series, the Animation Creative School with Help university College in Malaysia, and the China Animation Market Conference in Suzhou, China.
Job Titles:
- General Manager
- General Manager of Soyfoods of America
Laura Lee is General Manager of Soyfoods of America, a family enterprise. Laura has been with Soyfoods from the beginning when her parents started the business. Still in high school, she began as a gopher and clean up person, and tells us she can still handle a mean floor squeegee!
While going to USC for business with an emphasis in entrepreneurship, she kept the Company books and handled in store demos. After graduating and working full time for Soyfoods, she found out how smart mom and pops were and that the "standard" business models that she learned about didn't really apply to a family run operation. She then learned all the pitfalls of running a food manufacturing plant: regulations, maneuvering big chain store, insurance, etc. 25 plus years later, she is still learning new things and really appreciates FIBR!
Outside of Soyfoods, Laura is a belly dancer and supports many charity events.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Corporate Business Development Officer
- V.P. / Business Development Officer / Manufacturers Bank
Mike Yadzyn is Vice President and the Corporate Business Development Officer for Manufacturers Bank. Prior he was a business owner for eight years and President of a Human Resources consulting company for six years. As a commercial business banker since February 2006 he devotes most of his time to the food industry. Food is the largest segment of the bank's portfolio. Always looking for ways to add value to each and every relationship. Taking the time identifying or recommending ways to better manage a client's banking and credit needs. "Watching our clients grow year after year is extremely rewarding". Manufacturers Bank has been a gold sponsor of FIBR since 2012 and will continue to do so in the future.
Job Titles:
- Quality Assurance Manager
- Member of Institute of Food Technology
- Quality Assurance Manager of Tawa ( 99 Ranch ) Supermarket, Inc
Phil is the Quality Assurance Manager of Tawa (99 Ranch) Supermarket, Inc. with a Food Science background from Chapman University. He is responsible for developing and implementing cGMPs, SSOPs, product SOPs and food safety plans for hot deli items, creating employee HACCP training programs, performing various safety audits, and responding to consumer feedback.
Phil is a member of Institute of Food Technology (IFT) and Food Industry Business Roundtable (FIBR). As a native Mandarin speaker, he voluntarily helped Mr. Mas Hori to translate the GMP and SSOP training material to Mandarin.
Job Titles:
- Senior Quality Assurance Manager / the Mochi Ice Cream Co.
Sherine has over 25 years of experience in the food industry, in both food safety management and productivity improvement in manufacturing. She has extensive Experience in Japanese 5S method and was a 5S Champion for over 5 years in Sri Lanka. She is also a member and a certificate holder of the American Society for Quality. She was born and raised in Sri Lanka and moved to the USA in 2009. Food safety is her passion. When not working she enjoys being with her husband and two children, their birds, two cats, and cyber-shopping.
Job Titles:
- Quality Systems Consultant / Aseptic Technology LLC
Vanessa LS Jackson is a highly experienced Quality Systems professional primarily for the food industry. She has a Bachelor of Science in Foods and Nutrition from San Diego State University and a Master of Business Administration from Grand Canyon University. She has specialized certificated training in Sales and Customer service under the Brian Tracy school of thought.
She has been associated with very large companies such as Kraft/Nabisco, Conagra, Dolly Madison down to smaller companies such as JJ Snack Foods. She ventured off into Risk Management as a Claims Examiner and because of her background she was assigned several food accounts to professionally investigate, evaluate, negotiate, and resolve food products commercial liability claims, and she was once an independent auditor for ASI.
Finally, she enjoys the three R's: reading, roller skating, and relaxing outdoors. She cherishes simple fun times laughing in the company of good friends and family, as well as, volunteering helping others in the community.
Job Titles:
- DIRECTOR of OPERATIONS & HUMAN RESOURCES
- Director of Operations and Human Resources at CDT
Yvette Nunez is Director of Operations and Human Resources at CDTech. She is responsible for payroll, bookkeeping, human resources and the day-to-day operations and needs of the organization, its staff and building. For over 20 years, Nunez has held a variety of positions at CDTech including Sr. Program Director for Business and Economic Development, Director of Operations (previously), and the lead for the Los Angeles Manufacturing Networks Initiative (LAMNI) and the Green Urban Manufacturing Initiative (GUMI). She also served as the Executive Director of the Food Industry Business Roundtable (FIBR) and the Toy Association of Southern California (TASC).