SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The board of directors of Orion Food Systems, the international food service provider of leading brands such as Hot Stuff and Lettieri's, has announced the appointment of Henry J. (Hank) Suerth as chief executive officer.
Suerth brings more than 40 years of experience in a variety of industries, including more than 20 years at the president and CEO and other senior management level positions in food and beverage, consulting, home furnishing and consumer electronics.
He was most recently senior vice president of commercial businesses for Caribou Coffee Co. Inc. since April 2009, where he led Caribou's fastest-growing segment including foodservice, retail licensing locations and consumer products. Suerth served as senior vice president of business alliances for the Starbucks Coffee Co. from 2001 to 2005, and was also responsible for Starbucks' licensing, foodservice and consumer products programs in North America. This included partnership ventures with Pepsi for ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages, Kraft for grocery and club channel packaged coffee, Dreyer's Starbucks-branded super-premium ice cream and the launch of Starbucks Coffee Liqueur with Beam Global Spirits & Wine.
Suerth also managed his own privately held management consulting company from 1986 to 1992.
"The Orion team has accomplished a great deal over the past 18 months," said Suerth, "Everyone's hard work, dedication, and professionalism are evident. My job is to continue to build upon the achievements of the Orion team, and leverage these accomplishments to accelerate the company's top line and bottom line growth across all our sales channels. Ultimately, by working together as a team, we will create opportunities for the benefit of our most valuable resources, our employees and franchisees."
Orion franchises and licenses Hot Stuff Foods concepts in more than 1,000 locations throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. Orion Foods Systems also offers Lettieri's Food To Go through distributors across the United States.
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