Global food products maker and distributor Sysco Corporation SYY has named Tom Bene its new president and chief operating officer (‘COO’). Bene will take up his new role from Jan 1, 2016.
Bene will report to chief executive officer Bill DeLaney and will be responsible for all of Sysco’s business operations and commercial functions. Bene will also take care of Sysco’s supply chain organization led by executive vice president Scott Charlton.
Bene was one of the strong contenders for the position as he has extensive experience in foodservice operations. Currently, he is serving the company as executive vice president and president of foodservice operations since Jan 2015.
Bene joined Sysco in Mar 2013 as executive vice president and chief merchandising officer and then in the same year in August, he was appointed executive vice president and chief commercial officer. Before joining Sysco, Bene worked with PepsiCo, Inc. PEP for more than two decades and held a variety of positions in merchandising, sales, operations, franchise development and general management. He also served as the president of PepsiCo Foodservice.
Hence, the company believes that Bene’s broad business experience, strong industry knowledge and exceptional leadership capabilities would surely contribute significantly to the company’s success and deliver improved and more consistent business results.
Overall, the company’s long term fundamentals are solid. The company’s growth strategy remains strong and its efforts to reduce costs and improve efficiency are appealing. The company has implemented several short-term steps and longer term strategic initiatives to accelerate sales and mitigate the ongoing gross margin pressure. As a result, Sysco has delivered higher gross margins in the last two consecutive quarters, after witnessing declining gross margins since the last two fiscal years due to multiple factors.
The company’s sales have also improved consistently driven by acquisitions and volume growth. Though the termination of the long-awaited merger agreement with US Foods in June was disappointing, the company still remains positive on the acquisition front and expects to move forward with more such deals. However, the company expects earnings to remain under pressure due to currency headwinds.
Sysco has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Better-ranked food companies in the industry include Omega Protein Corp. OME and Campbell Soup Company CPB. All of them sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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