TRACY, Calif. — (January 24, 2023) – The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), the marketing order representing California dairy producers, today announced the addition of Ben Yee as Director of Processor Partnerships.
Yee joins the CMAB with more than 20 years of experience at Safeway/Albertsons Companies where he held a wide range of leadership positions including Assistant Store Manager, Business Process Analyst, Category Analyst, Sourcing Manager, Senior Brand Manager, Senior Product Manager, and most recently Product Manager overseeing dairy categories. In these roles he led company initiatives to drive customer loyalty, sales and profit through quality improvement, innovation, cost savings and portfolio optimization.
His career highlights include 12 years of management of Own Brands private label programs across store categories including dairy. Yee has led multiple cross functional teams to commercialize hundreds of new items within Albertsons’ vast portfolio of brands including Lucerne, Signature Select, Open Nature and O Organics. Yee also brings experience in strategic sourcing where he managed vendor relations and contracts, all while identifying and connecting strategic suppliers to the company.
“Ben’s strong leadership skills and expertise in quality improvement, innovation and product optimization will greatly benefit the CMAB and our processor partners as we continue to foster these key relationships,” said John Talbot, CEO of the CMAB.
Yee holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Industrial Arts and Product Design from San Francisco State University. He joins the CMAB at the retirement of Jim Dimataris, VP of Processor Partnership, who created the role and held it for 15 years.
California is the nation’s leading milk producer, and makes more butter, ice cream and nonfat dry milk than any other state. California is the second-largest producer of cheese and yogurt. California milk and dairy foods can be identified by the Real California Milk seal, which certifies they are made with milk from the state’s dairy farm families who lead the nation in sustainable farming practices.
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About Real California Milk/California Milk Advisory Board
The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), an instrumentality of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is funded by the state’s dairy farm families who lead the nation in sustainable dairy farming practices. With a vision to nourish the world with the wholesome goodness of Real California Milk, the CMAB’s programs focus on increasing demand for California’s sustainable dairy products in the state, across the U.S. and around the world through advertising, public relations, research, and retail and foodservice promotional programs. For more information and to connect with the CMAB, visit RealCaliforniaMilk.com, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
CONTACT
Thalia Sillivan, CMAB
(209) 690-8242