GRAPEVINE: News About People...

Guinness UDV North America Inc., a regional division of the world's leading beer, wine and spirits company, announced the appointment of John Replogle as president of Guinness Bass Import Company (GBIC). Replogle succeeds Tim Kelly, who will be returning to the UK later this year after helping to manage the transition. Replogle, the former managing director of Guinness UK, has spent the past several months leading Guinness UDV's wine integration strategy. Prior to that position, he was Guinness sales director in Great Britain and vice president of sales at GBIC in Stamford.

Dr. Richard Hunter, former Deputy State Health officer of the Florida Department of Health, has accepted the position of President & CEO of Food Technology Service, Inc. This move by Dr. Hunter, a prominent public health expert, to one of the country's leading food irradiation companies makes a strong statement regarding the need for consumers to have safer foods available in the marketplace. Food Technology Service is the first company in the United States to commercialize food irradiation to control food borne disease. Food Technology Service operates a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspected plant that provides contract-irradiation services to the food industry.

The former chief executive for Aurora Foods Inc., maker of Mrs. Butterworth's pancake products, admitted to a judge September 4 that he deceived investors and lenders about the company's financial woes. Pleading guilty to securities fraud charges in federal court, Ian Wilson, said he concealed the fact that millions of dollars had been spent on promoting Aurora products like Mrs. Butterworth's pancake mix and Mrs. Paul's fish sticks. Wilson could receive up to four years and three months in prison as part of a plea deal. No sentencing date was set. A criminal indictment asserted that Wilson and other executives "falsified the books and records of Aurora" to hide the questionable expenses. The plot was hatched in a bid to "satisfy the earnings-to-share expectations of Wall Street analysts and the expectations of Aurora investors," court papers said. As the result of an internal investigation, St. Louis-based Aurora announced it had reduced its earnings by $43.3 million for the first three quarters of 1999 and reduced by $38.3 million its 1998 third- and fourth-quarter earnings.

One of U.S. drinks giant Coca-Cola Co.'s top officials in Europe has been appointed to the board of Coca-Cola HBC, the bottler said. Coca-Cola released a statement saying Alexander Allan, currently president and chief operating officer of Coca-Cola Europe, Eurasia and Middle East, would replace Charles Stanton Frenette, who resigned. Coca-Cola HBC is the world's second largest bottler of Coca-Cola products.

Australia's Wine Export Council (AWEC) has announced that it has appointed Jonathon Scott as general manager. Scott, who previously held the position of executive manager of AWEC has worked in international trade since 1977, serving as Australian Trade Commissioner in Beijing (1983-1985) and the Australian Trade Commissioner to London (1985-1989).