The International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA) and Supermarket News are excited to announce the winners of its 2025 Champions of Change awards program, which recognizes emerging and established leaders in the retail bakery, deli, foodservice and dairy sectors.

This year’s class recognizes 24 industry leaders from the retailer/wholesaler and supplier/vendor communities who consistently demonstrated excellence and superior results between Jan. 1, 2024, and Nov. 1, 2024, in three categories: Emerging Champions, Legendary Champions and Store Department Directors/Managers.

2025 Emerging Champions:
Ardee Arieta, Bakery Category Merchant, Giant Eagle Inc.
Mark Baca, Owner, Food Dynamics LLC
Mark Gaedje, Senior Buyer – Fresh Procurement, C&S Wholesale Grocers
Christian Johnson, Bakery/Deli Account Manager, UNFI
Abdel Kone, Sales Analyst & Project Manager, Interval Export
Daniel Lessem, Director - Education & Strategic Initiatives, Rational USA
Nathan Padget, Team Lead, Manufacturing & Operations Sub-Assembly, Hillphoenix
Kim Schutte, Category Manager – Bakery, Kroger Co.
Primal Shah, Senior Director - Strategic Sourcing, Albertsons Companies
Julienne Sim, Senior Manager – Strategic Sourcing, Albertsons Companies
Sandi Smith, Deli Director Operations, Albertsons Companies
Riley Williams, VP Business Development, Mid-America Marketing Inc.
Amanda Yoder, Category Business Manager – Bakery, Northeast Shared Services
Sue Zastrow, Director – Deli, UNFI

2025 Legendary Champions:
Stacey Brown, SQF Lead Auditor, ASI Food Safety
Steve Buffington, SVP Sales & Marketing, Give & Go
Kim Ennis, Senior Key Account Manager, Dawn Foods
Susan Metz, SVP, Gasparini Sales Inc.
Chris Tomandl, VP – Grocery, Flowers Foods
Melissa Trimmer, Senior Director – Culinary, Dawn Foods.

2025 Store Department Directors/Managers:
Geneva Begaye, Bakery Team Leader and Trainer, Bashas’
Megan Evans, Bakery Team Leader, Bashas’
Trevor Tucker, Bakery Manager Trainer, Bashas’

Finally, this year’s Legacy of Excellence award goes to Dotty VanderMolen. This award is designed to recognize a Legendary Champion of Change who best represents that category and takes into consideration criteria such as longevity and impact; innovation and pioneering; leadership and influence; community and social impact; and lifetime achievements. Ms. VanderMolen (retired) was the Director of Sales & Marketing at Advantage Solutions, where she worked for 26 years. Ms. VanderMolen is known for developing strong relationships, her innovative approach to sales programs, and being a phenomenal team builder.

The 2025 Champions of Change class received special recognition by Supermarket News and IDDBA at the IDDBA Show in June in New Orleans.

IDDBA 2026 is June 7-9 in Orlando, FL. Register for IDDBA 2026 today!