North American Food Safety & Quality

Frank Yiannas is a renowned food safety leader and executive, food system futurist, author, professor, past president of the International Association of Food Protection, and advocate for consumers.

Most recently, he served under two different administrations as the Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a position he held from 2018 to 2023, after spending 30 years in leadership roles with two industry
giants: Walmart and the Walt Disney Company.

After retiring from the FDA, Yiannas founded Smarter FY Solutions to help organizations address critical food safety and supply chain challenges. He also advises several prestigious companies, offering consultancy services to modernize compliance strategies and ensure clients meet regulatory requirements and industry standards.

Throughout his career, Frank has been recognized for his role in strengthening food safety standards in new and innovative ways, as well as building effective food safety management systems based on modern, science-based, and tech-enabled prevention principles.

Liz Duffy is a seasoned compliance and food safety leader with more than 20 years of experience leading teams to develop and implement comprehensive compliance programs that prioritize food safety and ethical business practices.

Liz began her career at Walmart in 2006 and now serves as Vice President, Global Food Safety & Compliance for the Fortune 1 retailer. In this role, Liz leads the team that supports Walmart’s approach that enables an end-to-end food safety and compliance program and culture. Liz recently transitioned from her previous role as Vice President, Global Omnichannel and eCommerce Compliance at Walmart, where she was responsible for compliance strategy, controls, and continuous improvement processes for the company’s eCommerce, Walmart Business, and Online Pickup and Delivery business offerings.

Liz’s passion lies with food safety, having started her career at Walmart as a Food Safety Manager for Walmart U.S. Stores and Sam’s Clubs. Throughout her nearly two-decade tenure at Walmart, Liz served in a wide variety of compliance roles supporting food safety program development, recall execution, store operations, eCommerce, and omnichannel compliance program acceleration.

Prior to joining Walmart, Liz worked at Cargill Value Added Meats where she supported role in Quality Assurance at a poultry processing facility in Arkansas.

A graduate from the University of Arkansas, Liz holds a Bachelor of Science and an MBA with a focus on Leadership and Ethics. Liz and her family reside in Northwest Arkansas. On the weekends you can find her spending time with her family and her horse.

Mahir is a Master in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and currently is a Vice President at PepsiCo leading Global FSQA (Food Safety and Quality Assurance) Organization based in New York.

Mahir has four years of work experience in Unilever, India and then 28+ years of experience with PepsiCo. He has worked in Supply chain operations, EHS (Environment , Health and Safety) , R&D, Digitization and most of all in Food Safety and Quality Assurance across three continents – India, Dubai and USA. He is currently responsible for formulating and implementing strategic plans for all Food Safety and Quality initiatives across the entire product portfolio ( Snacks, beverages, Dairy, Bread and meat snacks in over 1300 company-owned and third-party manufacturing sites around the globe.

With deep-rooted knowledge across product categories and differing regulatory and cultural environments, he plays a pivotal role in establishing rigorous standards and systems. He has shared countless lessons learned during his career. His innovative approaches ensure that PepsiCo consistently delivers products that not only meet stringent safety guidelines but also resonate with consumer expectations and satisfaction. Under Mahir’s guidance, the company’s commitment to food safety, quality assurance, compliance, and consumer trust remains unparalleled.

As the Vice President of Food Safety and Quality Assurance for Sysco Corporation, Charles Leftwich serves the world’s largest foodservice distributor. In this role he supports Sysco’s Purpose of “Connecting the World to Share Food and Care for One Another” by establishing food safety, product quality, sustainability, and regulatory compliance strategies across the Sysco enterprise. To implement these strategies, Charles lead a team of talented food safety professionals across Sysco’s broadline distribution services, specialty manufacturing locations, and Sysco’s industry leading private label brand program which is renowned for its commitment to the highest product quality and food safety standards.

Charles is a highly-experienced professional in the food safety, quality assurance and regulatory field with expertise in the harvest, manufacturing, distribution, and foodservice industries. I have served on various industry associations’ boards of directors, committees and working groups. Charles has held positions of increasing responsibility throughout his career and prior to Sysco, led teams in Food Safety and Quality Assurance, Operations and Environmental Health and Safety at Cargill Meat Solutions and Kane Beef. Charles graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science, and a Master of Business Administration from West Texas A&M University.

Marlenea Jackson is a visionary Quality and Operations leader with a track record of transforming teams into high-functioning units. Currently serving as the Vice President of Quality, North America at Mondelēz International, she has amassed extensive experience across various leadership roles within the food and consumer packaged goods industry. Marlenea is renowned for her strategic leadership, fostering enduring partnerships, and implementing robust Quality and Food Safety programs that safeguard consumers while driving business growth. With a Bachelor of Science in Biology/Biological Sciences from Oklahoma Christian University, she is acclaimed for her adeptness in DMIAC methodology, lean manufacturing principles, and food safety audit schemes. Marlenea is lauded for her exceptional leadership, adept problem-solving skills, and ability to inspire teams to achieve organizational objectives.

Bill Marler is a lawyer best known for his work in food safety and foodborne illness litigation. He is the founder of Marler Clark, a law firm based in Seattle, Washington, that specializes in representing victims of foodborne illness outbreaks. Marler has represented clients in some of the most high-profile foodborne illness cases in the United States, including the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak, the 2006 Dole spinach E. coli outbreak, the 2011 Listeria outbreak linked to cantaloupes from Jensen Farms and the 2018 Romaine E. coli outbreak.

Bill has also been a strong advocate for food safety reform and has worked with government agencies and industry leaders to improve food safety standards to prevent future outbreaks. Bill has been recognized for his work with numerous awards and accolades, including both the Seattle University Distinguished Law Graduate and Professional Achievement Awards, the Washington State Public Justice and Outstanding Lawyer Awards. Bill’s work has been profiled in the book “Poisoned” and in the Netflix documentary of the same name.

Sara Mortimore is the former Vice President and Global Subject Matter Expert for Food Safety at Walmart Inc. In this role, Sara was responsible for the global development and oversight of all Food Safety programs and initiatives for the company’s more than 10,500 stores, manufacturing facilities, distribution, and fulfilment centers. A proud accomplishment was leading the team to be awarded the IAFP Black Pearl Award in 2024.

Prior to joining Walmart in May 2019, Sara held the position of Vice President of Product Safety, Quality and Regulatory Affairs with enterprise-wide responsibility at Land O’Lakes, Inc. In this capacity, she covered both human and animal foods and supported non-profit international development work.

Sara began her career with Glaxo SmithKline as a Research Technologist in Research & Development. In 1989, she joined Grand Metropolitan Foods, which later became Pillsbury and was subsequently incorporated by General Mills Inc. Here she led food safety, quality, and regulatory teams throughout international markets, including support of brands such as Haagen Dazs, Wanchai Ferry, Old El Paso, and Green Giant.

She is the co-author of several successful books, chapters and papers on HACCP and food safety management. Sara has served on the board of trustees for the Royal Society of Public Health, for the BRC International Advisory Board, and is a past member of the Global Food Safety Initiative Steering Committee.

Dr. Denise Eblen was named administrator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) since December 2024. In this role, Dr. Eblen oversees FSIS and the fulfillment of its public health mission. She advances the agency’s vision and goals, leading innovative solutions to challenges in FSIS. Dr. Eblen is responsible for the successful planning and implementation of FSIS’ Strategic Goals — 1: Prevent Foodborne Illness and Protect Public Health; 2: Transform Inspection Strategies, Policies and Scientific Approaches to Improve Public Health and 3: Achieve Operational Excellence.

Drawing from 25 years of experience at USDA, Dr. Eblen plays a key role in steering FSIS in its efforts to use science-based decision making to modernize the agency’s inspection strategies, policies and approaches to improve public health.

Dr. Eblen first joined FSIS in 2001 as a food safety fellow supporting the agency’s food safety and public health priorities. In 2018, she was selected as assistant administrator for the Office of Public Health Science (OPHS) at USDA FSIS after serving as acting deputy assistant administrator for OPHS from 2013 to 2015. While leading OPHS, Dr. Eblen provided expertise in scientific analysis, including oversight of FSIS laboratories and testing of regulatory samples, risk assessment and outbreak investigation and response.

In addition to her work with FSIS, Dr. Eblen has held roles with USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS). In 2015, Dr. Eblen joined NIFA as deputy director. She led NIFA’s Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, which supports research, education and extension activities in food safety, food quality, nutrition and obesity. Dr. Eblen previously held the position of research associate with ARS, where she studied the safety of produce.

Dr. Eblen holds a doctorate degree in food safety microbiology from the University of Ulster at Jordanstown, a Master of Science in food science from Queen’s University Belfast and a Bachelor of Science in human nutrition from the University of Ulster at Coleraine, in Northern Ireland.