HOUSTON, Nov. 21, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY) announced today that Joseph R. Barton, James D. Hope, Aaron I. Katz, Alan W. Kelso, and Diane Day Sanders have been appointed group presidents for SYSCO's long-term strategic development process. The development process will encompass seven key areas of focus. Mr. Barton will serve as group president, product; Mr. Hope will serve as group president, customer; Mr. Katz will serve as group president, new growth; Mr. Kelso will serve as group president, operational effectiveness; and Ms. Sanders will serve as group president, communication / collaboration. Group presidents for the "supply chain" and "pricing" areas of focus will be named shortly. All of the appointments announced today are effective December 1, 2005, except for Mr. Barton's and Mr. Hope's, which will be effective upon their replacements being named.
"The strategic development process will provide SYSCO with a roadmap for achieving its vision of becoming the global leader of the efficient, multi-temperature food product supply chain," said chairman, chief executive officer and president Richard J. Schnieders. "By building on our foundation as the market leader in North America and leveraging on our past success and current capabilities, we will ensure a sustainable future for SYSCO and accelerate our rate of improvement."
The new positions mark the launch of a disciplined, company-wide implementation process that will be executed by teams of full-time, cross-functional associates devoted to the following strategic priority areas:
-- The product team will seek to better leverage SYSCO's purchasing
power and procurement expertise and differentiate SYSCO brand
products.
-- The customer team will target increased sales and market share by
enhancing customer responsiveness--making it easier for our
customers to do business with us--and leveraging our unique
strengths and position in the industry.
-- The new growth team will explore potential new growth
opportunities or markets and seek to enhance the processes for
evaluating, executing and integrating them.
-- The operational effectiveness team will pursue maximum efficiency
across SYSCO, lowering costs and expense structures.
-- The communications/collaboration team will establish critical new
methods for improving the way SYSCO communicates across the
organization and collaborates, or works more effectively with, all
of our business partners-customers, suppliers and others-
associates, shareholders, and the larger community.
-- The pricing team will develop market-based pricing techniques to
be even more competitive while increasing transparency to our
customers and driving market share gains.
-- The supply chain team will further expand our supply chain
capabilities to enable moving products faster and less expensively
across the globe.
During the strategic development process, the company will maintain its focus on day-to-day activities and objectives. "Our sales and earnings growth remain paramount," said Mr. Schnieders. "We are winners in the marketplace. Leveraging our assets, skills, scale, and infrastructure by engaging in this rigorous implementation process will ensure that we keep winning!"
Mr. Barton, 47, joined Lankford-Sysco Food Services (Pocomoke, MD) in 1983 as a food service supply specialist and progressed to a variety of merchandising marketing, sales and managerial positions, and currently serves as president of Sysco Food Services of Ventura Inc. (Oxnard, CA), a position he assumed in 2004.
Mr. Hope, 45, began his SYSCO career in 1987 as a financial analyst at the corporate headquarters in Houston, advancing through the operations review department to become manager in 1992. He transferred to Sysco Food Services of Kansas City, Inc. in 1993 as chief financial officer and was named president and CEO of that operation in 2000.
Mr. Katz, 41, joined SYSCO in 1999 as corporate counsel and in 2004 was promoted to assistant vice president, legal, with primary responsibility for mergers and acquisitions and real estate, the position he currently holds.
Mr. Kelso, 54, began his SYSCO career in 1993 in the operations department at the company's Seattle subsidiary and progressed through managerial positions in human resources and labor relations. In 1998 he transferred to SYSCO's corporate office as director of safety and claims, again advancing through managerial positions, most recently as assistant vice president, safety and employee relations.
Ms. Sanders, 56, began her SYSCO career in 1977 as a staff auditor in the operations review department. In 1982 she was named director of that department and in 1988 became assistant controller. She was promoted to vice president and treasurer of SYSCO in 1994 and in 2004 advanced to senior vice president, finance and treasurer.
SYSCO is the largest foodservice marketing and distribution organization in North America, providing food and related products and services to approximately 390,000 restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other foodservice customers. SYSCO's operations, supported by 47,500 associates, are located throughout the United States and Canada and include broadline companies, specialty produce and custom-cut meat operations, Asian cuisine foodservice distributors, hotel supply operations, and chain restaurant distribution subsidiaries that serve both domestic and international locations. For more information about SYSCO visit the company's Internet home page at www.sysco.com.
Certain statements made herein are forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. They include statements regarding the expected benefits of SYSCO's long-term strategic development process. These statements are based on management's current expectations and estimates; actual results may differ materially due to certain risks and uncertainties, including competitive price pressures, availability of supplies, work stoppages, severe weather, successful integration of acquired operations by the Company, conditions in the economy, including the impact of rising fuel costs, industry growth and internal factors, such as the ability to control expenses, and risks inherent in SYSCO's supply chain project, which is still being refined and may not provide the expected benefits. In addition, the strategic development process is in its earliest phases, and it is too early to predict when or what its actual impact will be with any degree of accuracy. For a discussion of additional factors affecting the Company, see the risk factors contained in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 2, 2005 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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