In honor of his commitment and passion to the education of the foodservice industry, the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA) awarded its William J. Tobin Award to Hugh Roth, Senior Vice President – Chief Customer and Business Development Office at PepsiCo Global Foodservice Division, in November 2019.
The William J. Tobin Award honors an industry executive who has made notable and lasting contributions to foodservice education. Roth has been a member of IFMA’s Board of Directors since 2016 and has served in several leadership roles, including Chairman of IFMA’s Education Foundation for the past two years. Through his leadership, the Foundation has launched People Future 2025, an initiative that is focused on promoting the vast career opportunities in foodservice manufacturing to the next generation of leaders, as well as the launch of IFMA’s Career Center, an online platform that connects foodservice companies and prospective employees.
“I am so grateful for this acknowledgement,
said Hugh Roth. "Most importantly, for my colleagues and IFMA partners that have engaged with us to help develop the initiatives and get the word out to promote and communicate the great career opportunities that exist in our industry. Although we have made great progress, we have much work to do to be sure that we more effectively ‘tell our story’ in order to attract the ‘best fit’ talent that will comprise the future leadership of our companies and the industry. That is the core mission of our People Future 2025 initiative.”
Hugh is a 30-year veteran of food service, consumer packaged goods and services industries, joining PepsiCo in 2013. He has held various senior sales, marketing and general management positions with PepsiCo, ARYZTA / Otis Spunkmeyer, The Coca-Cola Company and American Express.
Hugh is responsible for the strategic business development of PepsiCo’s largest current and prospective national and Global Foodservice chain customers. Under his leadership, Hugh’s team leverages the best of PepsiCo to bring insights-driven innovation, breakthrough experiential marketing programs, and a diverse food and beverage portfolio led by Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Lipton Iced Tea, Starbucks, Lay’s, Doritos, Gatorade, Quaker and Tropicana, to help PepsiCo’s customers differentiate themselves in the market, drive revenue and profit growth, and create consumer loyalty.
In addition to being a member of IFMA’s Board of Directors and leading the IFMA Education Foundation, Hugh is a member of the Industry Advisory Board of Penn State’s School of Hospitality Management, and an advisor to numerous small and medium sized companies in the consumer-packaged goods and services industries.
Congratulations to Hugh Roth, recipient of the 2019 William J. Tobin Award!
About the IFMA Education Foundation
The IFMA Educational Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, promotes the next generation of foodservice leaders by giving support to qualified culinary, marketing, sales, supply chain and food science students. Since 1972, the IFMA Education Foundation has awarded nearly $4 Million in scholarships and stipends. For more information and to make donations click here.
About IFMA Careers in Food
Find your next foodservice professional with IFMA's new Careers in Food career center. From Accountants to Analysts, IFMA Careers in Food offers job seekers with diverse career opportunities in the vast foodservice industry. Post all of you career opportunities and offer candidates the chance to work with dynamic professionals committed to bringing joy to communities around the world through the power of foodservice.