US Foods Inc. has named Pietro Satriano president and CEO, effective July 13, the company said Thursday.
Satriano, currently US Foods chief merchandising officer, will replace John Lederer, who plans to continue as an advisor to US Foods and its board of directors, the company said.
“Pietro is a proven leader whose business experience and strategic vision will be perfect for this next phase of US Foods’ evolution,” Ed Liddy, chairman of US Foods’ board, said in a statement. “We want to thank John for guiding the company through its incredible transformation over the past five years. His passion and dedication have been the driving force in setting the company on its path of becoming a truly great American food company that is perfectly positioned for growth.”
Satriano joined US Foods in 2011. Previously, he was president of LoyaltyOne Canada, the company behind loyalty program AirMiles. Before that, he served as executive vice president of Loblaw Brands at Loblaw Companies, where he was responsible for its range of private-label brands.
“It has been a remarkable ride at US Foods, and I’m grateful to have led such a talented group of employees,” Lederer said in a statement. “I can say without a doubt that Pietro is absolutely the right person to take this company forward.”
The appointment comes just 10 days after Sysco Corp. terminated its merger with US Foods, in what would have been an $8.2 billion deal to combine the nation’s two largest foodservice distributors.
The deal was opposed by the Federal Trade Commission, which argued that the combined companies would hurt competition.
As a result of the termination, Sysco agreed to pay a $300 million break-up fee to US Foods, and the Rosemont, Ill.-based company was free to move forward after 18 months in limbo as the two companies attempted to win approval for the merger.
Also terminated was the plan to sell 11 US Foods facilities to competitor Performance Food Group, or PFG. Sysco agreed to pay a $12.5 million break-up fee to PFG.
With about $22 billion in annual revenue, US Foods offers more than 350,000 products and employs about 25,000 people in more than 60 locations across the U.S. The distributor is owned by affiliates of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice LLC and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP.
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