The nation’s third largest poultry producer, Wayne-Sanderson Farms, has announced changes to its senior leadership team, including the retirements of Bryan Miller, senior vice president of quality assurance and food safety, and David Malfitano, chief human resources officer, after over 35 years of collective service to the company. In April, Miller was succeeded by Dr. Juan “Juanfra” DeVillena, while Malfitano was succeeded by Pamela Roach.
Since joining the company in 2004, DeVillena has served in various roles with increasing levels of responsibility at the company’s Danville, Arkansas and Pendergrass, Georgia complexes including quality assurance supervisor, quality assurance manager, plant manager, operations manager and director of quality assurance and food safety. Most recently, he served as vice president for quality assurance and food safety for the company’s fresh and prepared foods business units.
Prior to joining the company, DeVillena had experience working in operations, quality assurance and food safety for another poultry integrator, as well as gaining experience in poultry research at the United States Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine and the University of Maryland’s Nutrition and Food Science Department. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Food Science and a professional degree in food engineering from the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina in Peru. DeVillena also earned a Master of Science degree in Food Science from the University of Maryland and a doctorate degree in animal science from Texas Tech University.
While studying at Texas Tech University, DeVillena received a nomination for the university’s “Outstanding Research Award.” He is now a devoted lecturer at international forums, conferences and prestigious universities including Texas Tech University, Auburn University, the University of North Georgia, the University of Georgia and the University of Arizona. In addition, DeVillena currently serves as the chairman for the advisory committee to the Agricultural Technology Research Program at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He also serves on several planning committees for the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association.
The company’s new chief human resources officer, Pamela Roach, is a seasoned human resources professional with nearly two decades of experience with all but a few of those years dedicated to leading various human resources functions for Cargill. Joining Wayne-Sanderson Farms from Climate Solutions, an operating segment of Regal Rexnord in Fort Wayne, Indiana where she served as vice president of human resources, Pamela was a member of the organization’s leadership team that achieved over $1 billion in revenue across seven business units operating in multiple countries with over 7,000 employees. In this role, she was responsible for leading a global human resources team of professionals across seven countries via matrixed reporting into company business units.
Dedicating the majority of her career to her tenure at Cargill, Pamela served as a regional human resources manager, function human resources manager and business human resources director for multiple units of the company’s operation including poultry and other aspects of food production. In her last role with the company, she was a member of the senior leadership team that achieved $4 billion in revenue across three countries including 14 plants and five terminal locations. Graduating from the University of Minnesota, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a Master of Education degree in Human Resources Development.
Since its founding last year, Wayne-Sanderson Farms has evolved into a unified, cohesive operation with mutual principles and ideals thanks to their singular focus on the company’s vision to be the amazing chicken company. Following the recent merging of two poultry industry leaders, Wayne Farms and Sanderson Farms, the new company has worked diligently to retain the equity both companies have built over decades of reputation-building operation.
