Andy Boy competitors

Bob Ling is President and Chief Executive Officer of Unified Grocers and has served in this role since May 2013. In 2011, Bob was named President of the Company. Previously, he served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, in which he was responsible for the Company’s Human Resources, Labor Relations, Real Estate and Government Relations functions. Prior to joining Unified in 1996 (Unified was then known as Certified Grocers of California, Ltd.), Bob held senior level positions with retail drugstore and supermarket companies. He was Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for MegaFoods Stores, Inc., in Mesa, Arizona and also served as Acting President and CEO of MegaFoods. Bob also had a similar position with Reliable Drug Stores, Inc., in Indianapolis, Indiana. Earlier in his career, he was a partner in the law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, concentrating his practice in employment and labor law. Bob currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Grocers Association and was Chairman of the Board of the California Grocers Association (CGA) in 2009 and recently served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the CGA Educational Foundation for four years. Previously, he served on CGA's Executive Committee, was a member of the Government Relations Committee and the Association’s Political Advisory Committee. Bob is a Board Member and Public Affairs Committee Member of the California Retailers Association. He also is a member of the California Business Roundtable and the Government Relations Committee of the Food Marketing Institute. A graduate of Tufts University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, Bob holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Michigan Law School.

Before Mr. Kruse started Western Milling in early 2000, he was President and Operating Manager of West Coast Grains for PM Ag Products, a division of publicly traded Tate & Lyle, and is President/Stockholder of Kruse Investment Company (KIC). Mr. Kruse joined O. H. Kruse Grain & Milling in 1987 after graduating from California Polytechnic State University SLO with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture Business. His first assignment with O. H. Kruse was Vice President in charge of production and transportation. In 1989, Mr. Kruse was put in charge of building and developing business for a dairy feed plant in South Central San Joaquin Valley of California. The site of Pixley, California was chosen in early 1990 and construction of the new plant began in October of that year and was in operation within one year. Within four years it was the largest single site feed plant in California. In 1992 Mr. Kruse became President of O. H. Kruse and oversaw operations in California, Arizona, Texas and Idaho producing under the O. H. Kruse Grain & Milling Label and in Washington State under the Ferndale Label. Total sales of such operations for the calendar year 1995 were over 1.2 MM tons. In 1995, as President of O. H. Kruse Grain & Milling, Kevin was approached by PM Ag Products and negotiated the sale of the then family run business. Under new ownership, Kevin was involved with integrating the operations of O. H. Kruse with Ferndale Grain. In 1997, he built a state-of-the-art flour mill in Colton, California, and acquired Capitol Flour Milling, which he grew to 9,500cwt/day and sold to Con Agra in 1998. Mr. Kruse then acquired a feed mill and started Western Milling in mid-2000. He remodeled the facility using the latest technology. Western Milling became profitable within the first six months of operation. Today as CEO of Western Milling, Mr. Kruse oversees close to 700 employees in 33 locations with sales volume of 4.3 MM tons per year. The company has diversified into food, pet food and agronomy products as well as commercial feed. Mr. Kruse is a past director of California Feed and Grain Association as well as a past director and President of the Los Angeles Grain Exchange. Currently he holds a seat on the AFIA Board and PFI Board.