HOUSTON, Aug. 30, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY), North America's leading foodservice marketer and distributor, announced today that Thomas H. Russell has been named vice president of SYSCO Corporation and chairman and chief executive officer of The SYGMA Network, Inc., SYSCO's chain restaurant distribution subsidiary. Mr. Russell, who is currently president and chief executive officer of SYSCO's Metro New York foodservice distribution operation, will assume his new position September 5, 2005. He succeeds Gregory K. Marshall, who is retiring following a distinguished 40-year career in the foodservice industry.
Mr. Russell, 57, joined SYSCO in 1983 as controller of the company's Saginaw, Michigan operating company. He advanced to vice president of finance in 1984 and became president and chief operating officer in 1986. In 1995 he transferred to Sysco Food Services of Central Pennsylvania to serve as president and chief executive officer before assuming his current duties in 2000. Prior to joining SYSCO, Mr. Russell served as chief financial officer for eight years at the Rainbo Bread division of Campbell Taggert, Inc. in Saginaw.
Mr. Russell was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and raised in Saginaw. He is a 1975 graduate of Western Michigan University, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in biology. He and his wife, Margo, have two daughters and will relocate to the Columbus, Ohio area in the near future.
The SYGMA Network, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of SYSCO Corporation, distributes foodservice products and supplies to approximately 11,200 chain restaurant customers from its 16 locations across North America. For more information on The SYGMA Network, visit the company's home page at www.sygmanetwork.com.
SYSCO, the largest foodservice marketing and distribution organization in North America, provides food and related products and services to approximately 390,000 restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other foodservice customers, generating sales of $30.3 billion for the fiscal year 2005 that ended July 2, 2005. SYSCO's operations, supported by approximately 44,000 associates, are located throughout the United States and Canada and include broadline foodservice distribution companies, specialty produce and custom-cut meat operations, Asian cuisine foodservice distributors, hotel supply operations and chain restaurant distribution subsidiaries. For more information about SYSCO visit the company's home page at www.sysco.com.
The SYSCO Corporation logo is available at: http://media.primezone.com/prs/single/?pkgid=747