The Culinary Institute of America has elected Anne Fink as its 24th board chair, tapping the PepsiCo President of Global Foodservice to steer governance of the country's most prominent culinary college as it heads into its ninth decade. Fink, who joined the CIA's board of trustees in 2019, succeeds Marc Sarrazin, president and CEO of DeBragga—New York's Butcher, who had chaired the board since 2024.
Fink's Industry Depth
Fink's profile sits squarely in the foodservice supply chain: as head of Global Foodservice at Fortune 50 giant PepsiCo, she oversees one of the broadest beverage and snack portfolios reaching restaurant, convenience, and institutional operators worldwide. Her decades of experience in general management, marketing, and operations give the CIA board direct connectivity to the commercial side of the foodservice industry at scale — a meaningful asset as culinary education confronts shifting workforce demands, technology-driven kitchens, and evolving food and beverage consumption patterns.
"The Culinary Institute of America has historically played an important role in shaping the people and ideas that move our industry forward," Fink said in her statement. "I am honored to serve as board chair at such an exciting moment and look forward to partnering with Michiel, my fellow trustees and the entire CIA community to help shape what comes next."
CIA President Michiel Bakker framed the appointment as mission-critical for the institution's next chapter, noting Fink's demonstrated commitment to mentoring and developing emerging industry leaders.
Two New Trustees
Alongside Fink's elevation, the CIA announced two new board appointments that deepen its governance bench on the operator and product-innovation sides of the business.
Cindy McLoughlin joins as managing partner of the Consumer, Hospitality, and Manufacturing Practice at CohnReznick, where she advises restaurant, hospitality, and consumer businesses on growth strategies, capital transactions, and operational performance. With more than 25 years of experience, McLoughlin is a recognized voice in private equity transactions for consumer and restaurant brands — a skillset increasingly relevant as multi-unit foodservice operators pursue acquisition-led growth.
Ahmad Popal comes aboard as senior vice president of Food Innovation and Customer Experience at Ventura Foods, where he leads marketing, product development, culinary, and customer service functions serving restaurant and retail clients. His background spans general management, commercial strategy, and digital transformation — experience that maps directly onto the technology and menu-innovation pressures facing foodservice operators today.
What It Means for the Industry
With these additions, the CIA's board now numbers 23 trustees drawn from foodservice, beverage, hospitality, and business. For convenience and foodservice operators, the CIA pipeline matters: the institution's nearly 60,000 alumni populate back-of-house leadership roles across every foodservice channel, including the fast-growing prepared-foods programs that c-store chains are expanding aggressively. Chains like Wawa, Sheetz, and Casey's have built proprietary foodservice programs that depend on professionally trained culinary talent — exactly the cohort the CIA produces.
The governance refresh positions the CIA to deepen industry partnerships and shape curriculum around the practical demands of modern foodservice, from forecourt grab-and-go formats to full commissary-style food production at scale.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
