Rick Cohen, executive chairman
Rick Cohen is executive chairman of C&S Wholesale Grocers and is the third generation of the Cohen family to lead the Company. Rick grew up in the business, working for his father, Lester Cohen, during the summers until his graduation from college in 1974, when he came to work full time at C&S. Rick became CEO in 1989 and continues to lead the Company in the proud, innovative tradition of his father and grandfather.
Eric Winn, chief executive officer
Eric Winn, chief executive officer for C&S Wholesale Grocers, is responsible for all aspects of the Company strategy, growth plan, customer satisfaction and day-to-day operations. He has more than 19 years of industry experience and was most recently the chief operating officer, responsible for all operations, transportation, customer development and expansion. Since joining C&S in 2004, Eric has held several leadership positions across the Company and has been responsible for driving C&S’s strategic growth and further expansion in the retail market. Eric earned a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business.
Bill Boyd, executive vice president and chief legal officer
Bill Boyd, executive vice president and chief legal officer for C&S Wholesale Grocers, is responsible for in-house corporate, compliance and labor, and employment teams legal operations. Bill has extensive industry expertise having led legal teams at Imperial Dade, Athletes Performance and Polaroid Corporate, as well as being C&S’s chief legal officer for 10 years (2009-2019). Bill has a diverse educational background, with a J.D. from Duke University, M.B.A. from Babson College and a B.A. in both history and psychology from Williams College.
Elliot Brouse, executive vice president and chief supply chain officer
Elliot Brouse, executive vice president and chief supply chain officer for C&S Wholesale Grocers, is responsible for the warehouse operations across the Company. Elliot joined C&S in 2022 from Yum! Brands restaurants where he led Restaurant Supply Chain Solutions. He has more than 16 years of leadership supply chain industry experience, including as vice president of operations at Martin Brower US and prior to that as the director of logistics in the United States Air Force. Elliot earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Boston University and an M.B.A. from Indiana University.
Melanie Jones, executive vice president and chief commercial officer
Melanie Jones, executive vice president and chief commercial officer for C&S Wholesale Grocers, is responsible for leading the commercial organization’s execution of a strong customer experience and business growth across the Company. Melanie joined C&S in 2023 from Sysco, where served as the president of the North Central Region. Before that she was the regional vice president, Central U.S., at Mondelez International where she was responsible for sales execution and strategy for key customers, including Walmart, Kroger, Target, SuperValu, amongst others. In her extensive leadership experience, she has led commercial strategies at Kroger, Target, McLane Distribution, Coca-Cola North America and Liquidity Services Inc. Melanie earned a bachelor’s degree in communications & marketing from Ball State University and an M.B.A. from Indiana Wesleyan University.
Mark McGowan, executive vice president, retail and chief merchandising officer
Mark McGowan, executive vice president, retail and chief merchandising officer for C&S Wholesale Grocers, is responsible for the retail and franchise business, which is an active part of C&S’s growth strategy. Mark has more than 30 years of experience in the grocery industry, with a long history of partnership with C&S in his leadership positions at Ahold Delhaize. Most recently, he was the president of Stop and Shop, where he led more than 65,000 employees across 416 stores. During a period of growth and transition in the marketplace, Mark was instrumental in leading integrations and acquisitions to meet customer needs and drive business growth. His leadership enabled year-over-year positive sales trends, while also increasing both customer and employee satisfaction scores.
Kevin McNamara, executive vice president and chief financial officer
Kevin McNamara, executive vice president and chief financial officer for C&S Wholesale Grocers, is responsible for leading the financial strategy for the Company. Kevin joined C&S from Bacardi Limited, where he was chief financial officer. Prior to Bacardi, Kevin served as chief financial officer and administration officer for Centerplate, Inc. He also spent 18 years at The Gillette Company in increasing roles of responsibility, including vice president of finance of the Global Grooming Group and assistant corporate controller.
Miriam Ort, executive vice president and chief human resources officer
Miriam Ort, executive vice president and chief human resources officer for C&S Wholesale Grocers, is responsible for leading the Company’s human resources and communications organizations. Miriam joined C&S from Avis Budget Group, where she served as senior vice president, human resources. Prior to Avis, Miriam spent nearly a decade in executive HR roles at PepsiCo, before which she was head of talent management for Avon Products, North America. An accomplished author and speaker, Miriam coauthored the bestselling book One Page Talent Management: Eliminating Complexity, Adding Value from Harvard Business Press.
Peter Fiore, supply chain strategic advisor
Peter Fiore, supply chain strategic advisor for C&S Wholesale Grocers, is responsible for providing guidance on the operations and transportation functions. Returning from retirement in April 2020, Peter has more than 40 years of progressive leadership experience within the industry. He began his distribution career in 1978 as a warehouse selector with Purity Supreme, eventually leading their perishable maintenance and transportation operations. In 1992, Peter joined C&S through its acquisition of Purity Supreme, where he led warehouse, transportation and facilities & maintenance operations for the Company.
Michael Papaleo, strategic advisor
Michael Papaleo, strategic advisor for C&S, is responsible for providing quality service to our retail customers, inventory management, trade relations, margin performance, merchandising and marketing, the damage center and the ISQL operation. Michael has significant industry expertise, joining C&S in 1997 and holding several leadership positions. His prior expertise includes more than 14 years with Twin County Grocers in merchandising and procurement. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business and economics from Rutgers University.
Andrew Connell, senior vice president, procurement
Andrew Connell, senior vice president, procurement for C&S Wholesale Grocers, is responsible for service, inventory management, demand planning and inbound planning. Since joining C&S in 2006, Andrew has held multiple leadership positions throughout the organization in procurement, demand planning, facilities, automation and network optimization. Andrew earned a bachelor’s degree in Operations Research from Cornell University.
Christine Curtis, senior vice president and general manager, commercial
Christine Curtis, senior vice president and general manager, commercial for C&S Wholesale Grocers, is responsible for leading the Northeast Independents as well as the Private Brands, Category Management and Retail Services teams and setting the strategic direction and execution in these areas. Christine joined C&S in 2006 and has led a variety of teams including corporate systems, business continuity, corporate projects, and sales and account management. Prior to joining C&S, Christine was with Wipro, NerveWire and NCRI where she partnered with customers on business strategy and systems integration initiatives.
Alona Florenz, senior vice president, corporate development and financial planning & analysis
Alona Florenz, senior vice president, corporate development and financial planning & analysis for C&S Wholesale Grocers, is responsible for deal analytics, including mergers and acquisitions, new customer opportunities and long-range financial planning. Since joining the Company in 2008, Alona has held various leadership positions within C&S’s finance function. Alona earned a Bachelor of Arts from Williams College and an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Bryan Granger, senior vice president, operations law and compliance
Bryan Granger, senior vice president, operations law and compliance for C&S Wholesale Grocers, is responsible for operations and corporate law as well as the food safety, real estate, environmental health and safety, security and aviation teams. Bryan joined C&S in 2007 and has extensive experience in operational and regulatory legal matters applicable to wholesale and retail operations. Bryan has a J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont.
Sudhakar Lingineni, chief information officer
Sudhakar Lingineni, chief information officer for C&S Wholesale Grocers, is responsible for leading the direction and execution of the Company’s information technology and digital transformation strategies to deliver an exceptional customer and employee experience and improve overall operational process efficiencies. Since joining C&S in 2012, Sudhakar held various leadership positions within the organization. Most recently, he served as senior vice president, information systems. Prior to C&S, he oversaw all business applications and processes at Sharp Electronics. Sudhakar earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the National Institute of Technology.
Greg Patch, senior vice president, operations
Greg Patch, senior vice president of operations for C&S Wholesale Grocers, is responsible for all facets of warehouse operations, including network alignment, shrink and damage performance, day-to-day execution and labor planning, and expense controls and efficiencies. Since joining C&S in 1992 as a selector, Greg has held various leadership positions within the organization. He has vast institutional expertise having led several growth initiatives and acquisitions during his tenure.
Anthony Sattler, senior vice president, fresh procurement and merchandising
Anthony Sattler, senior vice president, fresh procurement and merchandising for C&S Wholesale Grocers, is responsible for setting and overseeing the strategic growth of the fresh procurement and merchandising organization. Since joining C&S in 1997 as a warehouse selector, Anthony has held several leadership positions within the Company, and has been instrumental in leading multiple warehouse realignments as well as large-scale customer start-ups. Anthony earned a bachelor’s degree from Becker College and an M.B.A. from Nichols College.
Ron Wright, senior vice president, logistics
Ron Wright, senior vice president of logistics for C&S Wholesale Grocers, is responsible for outbound and inbound transportation, facilities and fleet programs, automation, design and construction, and operations services and technology. Since joining C&S, Ron has held several leadership positions within the organization, including facilities, finance and procurement. Ron earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an M.B.A. from the McCallum School of Business at Bentley University.