ESSEX FOOD INGREDIENTS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Controller
- Essex As Controller
Brad joined Essex as Controller in March 2023. Brad has a passion for food/cooking which drew him to the Company.
He has experience in many industries - most recently a short stint in Commercial Paving, but prior to that - 10 years at three manufacturing companies. He is an experienced Controller with additional experience in ERP conversions and has held onsite HR responsibilities.
Brad likes to spend his free time golfing, playing trivia, cooking, and spending time with his family. Brad has 3 Coonhounds which he hikes/runs on local trails on the weekends. He is also an avid sports fan - especially the Philadelphia Eagles, all Soccer leagues, and Penn State football.
Job Titles:
- Essex Sales Team As a Sales Support Specialist
- Sales Support Specialist
Briana joined the Essex sales team as a Sales Support Specialist in early 2023. Prior to joining Essex, she worked in sales, managing and supporting the production of made-to-order equipment, communicating and problem-solving with customers globally.
Briana has a bachelor's degree from George Mason University, where she studied Anthropology.
In her spare time, Briana enjoys spending time with family and friends and her dog Daphne. She enjoys reading, hiking, and yoga.
Caleb has been with Essex for over 2 years in the purchasing department as a buyer. Caleb has found it fun to learn more about the food industry as he looks to make all our customers
Job Titles:
- Vice President Customer Service
Job Titles:
- Essex Sales Team As a Sales Support Specialist
- Sales Support Specialist
Elsy joined the Essex sales team as a Sales Support Specialist in 2023. Prior to joining Essex, she lived in New Zealand for four years with her family. Elsy has spent many years in support roles managing projects and pricing. Elsy has a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from University of Houston and recently received her certification as a Salesforce Administrator.
In her spare time, Elsy likes to spend time with her husband and two daughters. Her hobbies include cooking, reading, and watching movies.
Heidi joined the Essex sales team in October 2022, covering Northern New Jersey and parts of New England. Prior to Essex, Heidi built a diverse background in chemicals across multiple segments for UPI.
Heidi is customer oriented, striving to provide a positive experience with her customers to build and support new product development.
Heidi likes to spend her free time trail running, hiking, cooking, working in her garden, and spending time with her kids. She is also a WSET Level 2 and enjoys teaching about wine.
Job Titles:
- Inside Sales Representative
Helen Mae joined the Essex sales team as Inside Sales in early 2023. Prior to that, she spent a few years in product development and QA working in food and beverage production. Helen Mae has a bachelor's degree in food science from University of Delaware and Master's degree in Business Management from Wilmington University.
Irv joined our team in February 2024 with 20 years of experience in food ingredients. He spent the last 12 years at Ingredion Incorporated in various commercial roles, most recently as Commercial Director for Kerr by Ingredion. Before that, Irv worked in sales and technical roles at Watson Inc. (now part of Glanbia) and Ottens Flavors (now part of Tastepoint by IFF). His career has been based on building relationships with customers, colleagues, and industry connections; strong relationships lead to success.
He has a Master of Business Administration degree from Drexel University and a bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Rutgers University.
Irv enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters in his free time, hosting friends and family, cheering on Philadelphia sports teams, hiking, and golf.
Karen joined our team in July 2022 with more than 25 years of experience in Human Resources. She spent the last 15 years as the Managing Director, Human Resources & Organizational Development at St. Aloysius Orphanage. Prior to that she spent 10 years in various HR roles with Square D Company. Karen is passionate about helping organizations create and maintain work cultures where every voice is heard and respected.
She has a Master's in Labor and Employment Relations from University of Cincinnati. She also holds both her HRCI Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and SHRM Senior Certified Professional certifications.
In her free time, she enjoys reading and spending time with friends and family. She hopes to start visiting some of the places on her bucket list, why wait until tomorrow?
Kim joined the Essex sales team in November, 2015, covering the New England region. She has been in the food industry since 1995 with 9 years in R&D and the remaining in technical sales. Before joining Essex, Kim was a territory manager with Tate & Lyle in their specialty ingredients division.
Her technical background and her sales experience gives Kim the capacity to partner with her customers. She works to provide solutions, source ingredients, and assist in new product development to help her customers reach their goals.
Kim joined the Essex sales team at the end of 2022. Her extensive technical background includes business development, marketing, technical support, R&D as well as specializing in natural color solutions management for key customers.
Kim is excited to assist her customers in solving formulation and processing challenges and works closely with them to offer multiple solutions. Kim's knowledge of ingredients in formulations assists her customers in new product development.
Kim likes to spend her free time with her family and friends. She enjoys cooking, going to the beach and the gym.
Job Titles:
- Customer Account Specialist
Lori has been with Essex since 2004, working in both our customer service and finance departments.
She enjoys spending time with family, gardening, crafts and shopping.
Marianna joined the Essex sales team in 2019, covering the Northeast & Central New Jersey/New York regions. She has been in the food industry since 1998. Before joining Essex, Marianna held several different roles in R&D, sensory, marketing and account management with Symrise Flavors.
Her diverse background gives Marianna experience in building and fostering customer relationships, understanding their needs and creating high-quality solutions that meet her customer's objectives.
Marianna likes to spend her free time with her family. She enjoys being outdoors, summer BBQs, cooking, and reading.
Job Titles:
- Customer Account Specialist
Mary joined Essex in 2013. During her years at Essex, she has assisted customers and is currently one of our Document Administrators.
Prior to Essex, Mary was previously employed by a Dutch-owned Publishing Company that published academic and medical books.
She was with that company for many years and spent time in Holland for their workshops and seminars.
Her favorite down-time is spent at the shore or the mountains. She enjoys hosting fun-filled family dinners. Win or lose, she supports our Philly teams.
Job Titles:
- Customer Service Representative
Melissa joined Essex in October, 2023 as a Customer Service Representative. Melissa has been in customer service for 30 plus years. She enjoys building a relationships with her customers and Essex teammates.
When Melissa is not working she like spending time with her family and her dog Harper!
Job Titles:
- Customer Service Representative
Mike joined Essex in 2021. As a customer service representative, Mike's past experience serving customers and fulfilling their orders serves him well. Before joining our team, he worked for several years with bot CCG and Iron Mountain, in Customer Service and the warehouse, respectively.
He said his favorite part of working at Essex is the people - both customers and his Essex teammates. "Everyone is so helpful and easy to work with."
When he is not working, Mike enjoys spending time with his family, as well as playing and watching sports. He is an avid Eagles fan.
Job Titles:
- Customer Service Representative
Nakia joined Essex in May of 2022. She has 17 years of customer service experience from various roles as a pharmacy Technician. She also is a cake decorator & baker part-time .
Nakia says her favorite part about her job is getting to know the customers and their orders, which keeps her very busy . She likes working at Essex because she can balance work / homelife.
Nancy has been an integral part of Essex Grain on and off since the 1980s, with her latest stint at the company starting in 2003.
Nancy is a senior buyer responsible for maintaining inventory to meet customer demands, and looking at trends to evaluate future needs.
She has an associate degree in accounting from Goldey Beacom College.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her 2 rescue dogs and family.
Job Titles:
- Customer Account Specialist
Job Titles:
- Customer Account Specialist
Theresa has been with Essex Food Ingredients since September, 1999. She started at the company working in billing and handling technical requests. She has since transitioned into her current Customer Service position.
Theresa enjoys working with her customers to ensure their orders are processed and delivered in a timely manner.
In her spare time Theresa enjoys spending time with her husband & two children.
Job Titles:
- Customer Service Representative