Chad Anthony Durkin was named executive pastry chef for Desserts International Inc., Exton, Pa. He succeeds Gunther Heiland, founder and long-time executive pastry chef, who is retiring.

Caravan Ingredients, Lenexa, Kan., appointed Gary Schmidt vice president, operations. Schmidt has 15 years of operations experience, having previously worked for Cargill, Ernest & Julio Gallo Winery and Givaudan Flavors Corp. He will oversee Caravan's Quality Initiative and TPM certification. Schmidt succeeds John Kalal, who was named vice president of supply chain bakery supplies, North America (BSNA) for CSM, Caravan Ingredients' parent company. Caravan also named Lisa Zylkowski and James Anderson account executives for the specialty ingredients division.

Guillaume Bastiaens, vice chairman of Cargill, Minneapolis, and member of Cargill's board of directors, retired after 41 years of service with the company. He began his career with Cargill in 1967 as a refinery supervisor in Amsterdam, eventually transferring to Minneapolis as vice president in the company's processing group. Bastiaens was elected corporate vice president of Cargill in 1986 and later named chief technology officer and president of the company's industrial and food sectors. He was elected executive vice president and board member in 1995, and named vice chairman in 1998.