SEATTLE — Lucinda Salinas has been named senior director of business development at CuliNex, LLC. She joins the clean label food product consultancy alongside Kathy Stephenson, who was named senior director of marketing.

Ms. Salinas brings more than 30 years of food industry experience to her new role. She most recently led key account sales and innovation services for Full Harvest Technologies, a business marketplace for surplus and imperfect produce. Before that she was director of category marketing and consumer insights for IFF’s North American Taste Division. She also led business development for PowderPure by IFF and was group vice president at National Foods Labs.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in food biochemistry from the University of California Davis and a master’s degree in business from Saint Mary’s College of California.

In her new role, Ms. Salinas will lead strategic sales, marketing and innovation efforts for CuliNex.

“She is an instrumental addition to our leadership team … far beyond the business development role she is serving,” said Mark Crowell, founder and chief executive officer. “Organizational culture is a driving force to our success at CuliNex, and Lucinda brings proven leadership in empowering teams to accomplish great things.”

Ms. Stephenson joins CuliNex with three decades of experience at consumer, retail, foodservice and ingredient companies, both as a marketer and agency leader. She most recently was director of marketing communications at Pear Bureau Northwest, where she created marketing and promotional programs aimed at increasing awareness and consumption of the fresh pears grown in the Pacific Northwest.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in food science and technology from Oregon State University and a master’s degree in business from the University of California Berkeley.  

Ms. Stephenson joined CuliNex in September as director of marketing with the goal of elevating the organization’s presence in the marketplace and introducing clients to current services. She also will oversee the launch of new initiatives the organization plans for clients looking for clean label and plant-based formulation.

“We know our service is unmatched in our industry with most of our new business coming from client referrals,” Mr. Crowell said. “Bringing an experienced marketer like Kathy onto the team will help us grow our awareness and amplify our service excellence across the food industry.”