Associations

Rite Aid has elected president and CEO of Catholic Health Initiatives Kevin Lofton to its board of directors.

Lofton has worked with the Englewood, Colo.-based operator of hospitals and long-term care centers since 1998 and was appointed as its president and CEO in 2003.

Import volume at the nation’s major retail container ports grew 6.5% in October over the same month last year despite the government shutdown. Year-over-year increases are expected to continue for the remainder of the year, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

Virginia Beach, Va. — Peter Chang’s Chinese Bistro has leased a 6,030-sq.-ft. restaurant space at Landstown Commons in Virginia Beach, Va. Divaris Real Estate represented the landlord, Inland Diversified Real Estate, in the transaction. This will be Peter Chang’s sixth location in the region.

Washington, D.C. -- Women account for 18.4% of directors serving on the boards of the world's largest retail and consumer products companies globally, according to the latest Corporate Women Directors International (CWDI) report on Women Board Directors of Top Retail and Consumer Products Companies Globally.

Five new members were named to the board of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association this week, an organization focused on the interests of social media marketers.

The Word of Mouth Marketing Association, or WOMMA, was founded in 2004 and the newest members of the group’s board include: Mark Bisard, vp and senior counsel of American Express; Christine Morrison, group Social media manager for Intuit; Kathy Baughman, president and co-founder of ComBlu; Patti Regan, president and CEO of The Regan Group and Emily Bader, EVP of strategic planning  Zocalo Group.

FoodMinds, a food and nutrition consulting and communications agency, has appointed former Campbell Soup executive Juli Mandel Sloves as SVP and Julie Alessi, RD, as a senior account executive.

Sloves, a 12-year veteran of Campbell Soup Company with more than 20 years of communications experience, was most recently senior manager of global R&D communications at Campbell. Prior to that, she led nutrition and wellness communications for Campbell North America brands.

Washington, D.C. -- Retailers, advertisers and marketers called on Congress today to involve the Federal Trade Commission in efforts to eliminate frivolous patent lawsuits, saying vague letters sent out by “patent trolls” demanding licensing fees amount to unfair and deceptive practices. Patent trolls are companies formed to develop potential patent-infringement lawsuits without manufacturing their own products.

Washington, D.C. - A broad-based group of organizations including large and small employers, pharmacy benefit managers, providers, health benefits advisers and health plans from across the country have launched the Affordable Health Benefits Coalition (AHBC). The Coalition’s main priority is advancing policy ideas that it says will help people obtain more affordable health coverage.