Executive Search Success Story: Building an Operations and Commercial Leadership Team for a Regional Foodservice Distributor Competing Against National Broadliners

How JRG Partners executed a confidential, multi-role North American executive search strategy that equipped a family-owned regional foodservice distributor with the operations, supply chain, sales, finance, and technology leadership required to modernize distribution, protect independent restaurant customers from national competitors, and grow into contract foodservice and healthcare accounts.

The Challenge

A third-generation family-owned foodservice distributor had thrived on service to independent restaurants, but national broadline distributors were targeting its market with aggressive pricing, superior technology, and expanded private label. Its distribution centers ran on legacy systems, driver turnover had reached 50%, on-time delivery had slipped below 92%, its procurement scale was limited, and it had no structured approach to contract foodservice and healthcare accounts that offered more stable growth. The family had decided to professionalize the executive team while retaining ownership. Executive leadership identified several critical vulnerabilities threatening the business:

• National broadline competitors targeting independent restaurant customers with pricing and technology
• On-time delivery below 92% with driver turnover of 50%
• Legacy warehouse, routing, and ordering systems far behind competitors
• Limited procurement scale and private label penetration compressing margins
• No structured sales capability for contract foodservice, healthcare, and institutional accounts
• Finance focused on bookkeeping rather than margin analytics and capital planning

Recognizing that competing with national broadliners required a professional leadership team, the family ownership and board engaged JRG Partners to recruit a Chief Operating Officer, VP of Procurement & Category Management, Chief Sales Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Information Officer. The company required an executive search partner with deep foodservice distribution expertise and experience introducing professional leadership into family-owned businesses.

Why They Chose JRG Partners

Restaurant, Hospitality & Foodservice Focus

JRG Partners maintains a dedicated practice serving foodservice companies, including distributors, contract foodservice providers, and restaurant and hospitality operators, with a clear understanding of distribution economics, independent restaurant service, and the competitive dynamics with national broadliners.

Family-Owned Business Experience

Our firm has extensive experience recruiting professional executive teams for family-owned distributors and operators, with a clear understanding of ownership dynamics and cultural fit.

Multi-Role Execution

Our team specializes in running coordinated operations, procurement, sales, finance, and technology searches in parallel, ensuring leaders are selected as a complementary unit aligned to a single modernization plan.

Our Executive Search Strategy

Phase 1 — Modernization Plan Alignment

Our consultants partnered directly with the family ownership, board, and advisors to review service performance, competitive losses, procurement structure, systems, and target growth segments, defining five executive profiles aligned with the modernization plan.

Phase 2 — Talent Identification & Mapping

Our research team performed an extensive talent mapping initiative targeting operations, procurement, sales, finance, and technology executives at foodservice distributors, grocery and consumer distribution companies, contract foodservice providers, and logistics companies who had led documented distribution modernizations and growth programs. Over 380 executives were systematically assessed across these sectors.

Phase 3 — Candidate Engagement

Priority during outreach was given to leaders with a documented history of improving delivery performance and driver retention, building procurement and private label programs, growing contract and healthcare foodservice accounts, implementing distribution technology, and delivering margin analytics in family-owned environments. Only candidates meeting these strict performance baselines advanced.

Phase 4 — Selection Process

Finalists presented modernization plans to the family ownership and board, completed structured leadership assessments, and underwent reference verification focused on quantified service, margin, and growth outcomes.

Key Outcomes

• 380+ foodservice distribution and logistics executive profiles mapped across North America.
• Successfully placed a synchronized leadership tier spanning operations, procurement, sales, finance, and technology within seven months.
• Raised on-time delivery from below 92% to 98.5% and reduced driver turnover to 22%.
• Expanded private label to 24% of sales and improved gross margin by 210 basis points.
• Won $140M in new contract foodservice and healthcare revenue.
• Grew total revenue 19% in two years while retaining 94% of independent customers.