FMI Hires VP of SQFI Sales

The Arlington, Va.-based Food Marketing Institute (FMI) has appointed Gigi Vita VP of sales for the Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI). In her new role, Vita will manage the entire sales division of SQFI.  

A seasoned veteran of the food industry, Vita previously worked across all trade channels and headed successful initiatives within domestic and global organizations.

“Vita is an accomplished, versatile sales and business expert whose passion for operational and customer opportunities will bring new levels of awareness to the SQFI brand and strengthen our voice so it resounds around the globe,” noted Robert Garfield, chief food safety assessment officer and SVP at SQFI.

Her most recent position was leading strategic business development and innovation for the nation’s largest dairy cooperative, Kansas City, Kan.-based Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), driving alignment and interactions with customers, strategic partners and industry associations, and establishing a “culture of innovation” via a marketing focus and new product development across the enterprise. 

Before her time at DFA, Vita was president and COO of Rosemont, Ill.-based multinational dairy cooperative Fonterra North America, in which capacity she oversaw a $1 billion premium ingredient and commodity business for the United States, Canada, Caribbean and Central America.

She also spent more than eight years with Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo, holding several leadership roles in the areas of brand marketing, customer marketing, sales capability, revenue management and category management, as well as heading up the customer alignment effort for Pepsi Americas. 

Vita additionally held senior leadership roles at such other major consumer packaged goods companies as Coca-Cola, Kraft/Nabisco, Campbell Soup, Nestlé, and Procter & Gamble. 

Member companies of Arlington, Va.-based FMI operate nearly 33,000 retail food stores and 12,000 pharmacies.