JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- Supporting its recently announced long-term growth plans, The Kroger Co. has promoted Michael L. Ellis to senior vice president, Retail Divisions, overseeing the c-store group, in addition to five supermarket divisions.

Ellis has been president of the company's Fred Meyer division, based in Portland, Ore., since 2006. Since joining Fred Meyer at age 16, Ellis has held a number of leadership positions in the company, including vice president of Fred Meyer's food group and group vice president for grocery, drug, general merchandise, pharmacy & advertising for The Kroger Co.

Kroger also named Marnette Perry as its new senior vice president, Strategic Initiatives and Operations. She will lead several strategic initiatives, including efforts to reach value-conscious customers. In her previous role, she was responsible for eight supermarket divisions.

In other people news:

RedPrairie Corporation
RedPrairie Corp. appointed Gary Conway to executive vice president and chief marketing officer. In this role, Conway is responsible for RedPrairie's global marketing strategy, including corporate brand management, customer engagement, product strategy and marketing, and demand generation. Conway will report to RedPrairie CEO Michael Mayoras and become a member of the company's executive leadership team.

Colonial Coffee Roasters
Bill Bryson has joined Colonial Coffee Roasters as vice president. The company said it will utilize his expertise to focus on building business relationships and partnerships with regional and national convenience store chains that have the desire to provide high quality coffee, cappuccino and iced tea to their customers.

Bryson brings over 40 years of experience in the convenience and retail store industry. He was employed as vice president of Flash Foods, Waycross, Ga., and retired in March 2012 after 30 years of service.

E.A. Sween/Deli Express
Rick Gempko has been promoted to national director for c-store sales for the All Channel Sales Division at E.A. Sween/Deli Express. He joined the company in November 2008 as an area sales manager for the Northeast region. More recently, Gempko was the director of c-store sales for the East Region (everything east of the Mississippi River).

Prior to joining EA Sween, Gempko spent much of his career in the wholesale business as vice president of sales for Eby Brown and director of sales for Grocery Supply.

Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell) appointed Ben van Beurden as downstream director, effective January 1, 2013. In his new role, van Beurden will become a member of Shell's Executive Committee and will take over from Mark Williams, who will be returning to the United States and leaving the company after 33 years of service.

Van Beurden, a Dutch national and currently Shell's executive vice president Chemicals, joined Shell in 1983 and has held various engineering, plant management and operations and commercial roles in the Netherlands, Africa, Malaysia, UK and the USA.

VP Racing Fuels, Inc.
VP Racing Fuels, Inc. appointed James Rugg as business development manager-Automotive, Consumer Products to support its growing line of consumer products.

Rugg began his automotive career at the NAPA Distribution Center in Kent, Wash., where he progressed through several positions before being promoted to assistant sales manager and eventually, operations manager for NAPA's Distribution Center in Houston.

Acumera
Acumera promoted Thomas Yemington to vice president of sales and marketing. In this newly created position, Yemington is responsible for direct and channel sales, marketing and promotional activities, as well as creation and development of new products and services.

Yemington started his career with Intel Corp., where he worked for 15 years in a series of sales and marketing capacities. There, he supported the developing business of a variety of Intel's original equipment manufacturer customers, including Compaq, Dell, Gateway, Lenovo, Motorola, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony.

Advantage Sales and Marketing, LLC
Tanya Domier, current president and COO of Advantage Sales and Marketing (ASM), will assume the role of CEO, effective Jan. 1. Sonny King, current chairman of the board, CEO, and founder of the company, will transition to the role of executive chairman.

After beginning her career with the J.M. Smucker Co., Domier joined ASM in 1990. She quickly rose through the company's ranks, holding a variety of executive-level positions in sales, marketing, and operations.