KeHE Distributors has announced that Deb Conklin will become KeHE’s president and CEO on April 1, 2023, and Brandon Barnholt will move into the executive chairman role.
Barnholt, who turns 65 in April, has been the company’s president and CEO for fifteen years. During his tenure, KeHE expanded from a midwest specialty distributor to the largest pure-play distributor of specialty, natural, organic and fresh products in North America including the acquisition of Tree of Life, Nature’s Best, and Monterrey Provisions, according to KeHE.
Conklin has served as a board member for KeHE’s employee-owned enterprise. Concurrently, she has been the president and CEO of the Reddy Ice company, the largest manufacturer and distributor of packaged ice in the U.S.
“Deb is a perfect cultural fit and is uniquely qualified with a solid combination of strong distribution and commercial experience in the food retail sector. She is a seasoned, talented executive with deep experience in the capital markets and a keen strategic mind. Beyond that, she is an enthusiastic, humble, and focused leader with a bias for action,” said Barnholt, in a statement.
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