Last updated on June 13th, 2024
Rich Products of Buffalo, New York, recently named a new president and executive team that it says adds greater strategic depth to the company.
Richard Ferranti becomes the fourth president in the company’s history, succeeding Bill Gisel, who served as president and CEO. Gisel will continue leading Rich’s as CEO.
“Richard brings a wide array of exceptional qualities to his new role, not the least of which is his passion to fulfill our mandate for Rich’s to achieve long-term success as a family business,” said Gisel. “We continue making changes that will better position Rich’s for tomorrow. We could not be on a better path with Richard working closely with our executive team to chart our course for success as the next president of Rich Products.”
As president, Ferranti takes on more direct leadership responsibility for the strategic priorities of the business, enabling Gisel to focus increased attention on Rich’s long-term direction and organizational excellence priorities. Ferranti also maintains his role as COO, overseeing the performance of the company’s various food-related businesses in more than 100 countries.
“I am grateful to the Rich Family and Bill Gisel for the opportunities they have given me throughout my career to develop the necessary breadth and depth of experience required for this important leadership role,” said Ferranti, who has served in a series of leadership roles since joining Rich’s in 1986. “As we look ahead to 2019 and beyond, we have enormous opportunities to grow our business by delivering even greater value to our customers across the globe. We know that if we continue to strengthen and accelerate our capabilities, we will be successful.”
In other staff announcements, Jeff Kim has been promoted to president of global markets, a newly created role with responsibility for leveraging Rich’s global reach and local activation. A 26-year associate, Kim most recently led business operations as president of Rich’s Asia-Pacific region. With this promotion, Kim also was appointed to Rich’s executive leadership team.
Ray Burke, president of Rich’s US-Canada region, also has been appointed to the company’s executive team. Burke, who has served in his current role since 2012, has primary oversight and accountability for Rich’s food businesses across the U.S. and Canada.
“Rich’s is just two years away from celebrating its 75th anniversary, a milestone that places us among the most successful and enduring global family businesses anywhere,” said Gisel. “Our future is bright, and we’re confident that the leaders we have in place will help us achieve extraordinary results for our customers, our associates and our company now and well into the future.”
Rich’s is a family-owned food producing products ranging from cakes and icings to pizza, appetizers and specialty toppings. Rich’s works in more than 100 locations globally, with annual sales exceeding $3.8 billion.
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