Baldor Specialty Foods Restructures Organization as It Positions for Post-COVID Expansion

Baldor Specialty Foods, one of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic’s largest food distributors, announced today a pair of executive promotions that are designed to enhance business performance, improve the customer experience, and streamline the roll-out of several future company initiatives.

Baldor CEO TJ Murphy said, “As we emerge from the pandemic stronger than ever, Baldor intends to accelerate growth plans. Towards that end, we’re calling on the business talents of two exceptional executives who helped see Baldor through some very tough times. Both these promotions are well deserved and will ensure we grow the company for the benefit of our customers and employees.”

Murphy went on to announce the following promotions:

Gene Mayer is promoted to Chief Operating Officer. He was previously Senior Vice President of Procurement. In his new role, Gene Mayer will oversee global operations and strengthen Baldor’s infrastructure for growth.   Mayer will drive innovation in warehouse management, supply chain activities, and new business ventures. Gene has been a key contributor to Baldor’s growth over his 17 years with the company.

Benjamin Walker is promoted to Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing, and Merchandising. He was previously Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Walker has a history of driving a number of successful programs at Baldor, most notably the company’s successful pivot to a home-delivery model during the pandemic as well as driving a number of their digitization efforts and growth in the retail channel.

One of Ben’s first tasks will be restructuring Baldor’s Merchandising team with which he intends to further align the company’s sales and product strategies.  Reporting to Ben, Baldor’s Merchandising team will focus on curating and promoting the sale of goods and services to sustain and amplify customer activity. According to Ben, “As the Food Services industry continues to rebound, we are finding our customers want to deepen their relationship with us and purchase more of our product portfolio.  Investing in our Merchandising function is the next logical step in ensuring we live up to and exceed our customers’ expectations.”

In addition, the company also announced that Baldor President Michael Muzyk has transitioned from Chairman to outgoing Chairman of United Fresh Produce Association after overseeing the United Fresh / PMA merger and will now work with Walker on strengthening grower/shipper relations and accelerating Baldor’s expansion plans.

“These two new promotions ensure Baldor maintains a solid management team that’s prepared to take Baldor to new heights and better experiences for our customers and partners alike,” said Baldor President, Michael Muzyk. “Stay tuned, we’ll have a lot more to report in the coming months.”

About Baldor Specialty Foods

Baldor Specialty Foods is one of the largest distributors of premium fresh produce, specialty foods, dairy, meat and fish in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Beginning as Balducci’s fruit stand in Greenwich Village in 1946, Baldor maintains its original commitment to freshness, flavor, quality and service. Baldor Specialty Foods now services more than 13,000 food service, retail and corporate accounts from Portland, ME to Richmond, VA, and offers over 6,000 food items. The company’s mission is to deliver quality ingredients, innovative solutions and seamless experiences that ensure the success of its partners.

To learn more, go to www.baldorfood.com.