I&K Distributors, Lipari Foods, Sherwood Food Distributors, and Young’s Seafood. Prior to joining TRCM, Mr. Morey was a senior executive at KKR & Co. (KKR) from 2006 to 2010. At KKR, Mr. Morey was involved in the investments in Toys “R” Us and U.S. Foods and served on the boards of both companies. Previously, he was involved in investments in American Achievement, Harry Winston, Wilmar, Century Maintenance Supply, Hudson RCI and The Pantry. Currently, Mr. Morey serves as Chairman of the Board of Harvest Sherwood Food Distributors. Mr. Morey also worked for Fenway Partners from 2001 to 2006 and prior to completing his M.B.A., was at Freeman Spogli from 1997 to 1999 and worked in the investment banking division of Salomon Brothers Inc. from 1994 to 1997. He holds a B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of California, Los Angeles and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
William P. Russell, Jr. serves as our Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer and as a director on our board. Mr. Russell is a partner at TRCM which he joined in 2019. Mr. Russell has over 20 years of experience in the private equity and investment banking industries. Prior to joining TRCM, Mr. Russell was a partner at Sterling Investment Partners from 2006 to 2019, where he served on the Investment Committee and on the boards of directors of All My Sons Moving and Storage, Aurora Parts & Accessories, Lipari Foods, Opinionology, Miller Heiman, Service Logic and Cambridge International. Before Sterling, Mr. Russell was in the investment banking division of Lehman Brothers from 2000 to 2006. Mr. Russell holds a B.A. from Hamilton College, an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and was a Fulbright Scholar at the National University of Singapore.
Industry Advisors
We have assembled a large and highly accomplished team of Industry Advisors, each of whom will invest in our sponsor, to assist us in the sourcing, evaluation, due diligence, deal execution and value-creation strategies of prospective business combination partners. With their in-depth industry knowledge, extensive domain and transaction experience and exceptionally broad professional networks, our Industry Advisors are important partners to our management team.
We believe the experience of our Industry Advisors is a differentiating element in our approach, magnifies the breadth and depth of industry sectors where we have expertise, and increases our likelihood of finding and completing a suitable business combination. Importantly, we believe our Industry Advisors can potentially fill critical roles in the leadership teams or on the board of directors of prospective business combination partners while also providing access to their vast network of industry executives, helping our management team drive value-creation strategies at the combined company.
Our Industry Advisors are Tom Bené, John Bryant, Mike Duffy, Steve Louden, Christopher O’Leary and Bill Toler.
Tom Bené is a consumer and distribution industry executive with over 30 years of experience. Mr. Bené spent 7 years at Sysco, the world’s largest foodservice distributor, where he served as Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer from 2018 to 2020, and where he had previously served as Chief Operating Officer, President of Foodservice Operations, and Chief Commercial Officer from 2013 through 2017. Before Sysco, Mr. Bené had a 23-year career with PepsiCo, from 1989-2013, rising up through the ranks initially with Pepsi-Cola in roles such as Market Unit General Manager, Senior Vice President of Sales & Franchise Development, President of Pepsi-Cola North America, and later with PepsiCo as President of PepsiCo’s Foodservice Division. Mr. Bené currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Restaurant Association, a position he has held since June of 2020, the Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing the nation’s restaurant and foodservice industry. Additionally, Mr. Bené is the past Chair of the American Beverage Association and has served on the Executive Committee of the Women’s Foodservice Forum. Mr. Bené holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Kansas.
John Bryant is a consumer industry executive with over 30 years of experience. Mr. Bryant previously served as Chairman from 2014 to 2018 and Chief Executive Officer from 2011 to 2017 of the Kellogg Company, one of the world’s largest food manufacturing companies with over 31,000 employees and $13 billion in revenue. While at Kellogg, which he joined in 1998, Mr. Bryant held a variety of roles before being named Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, such as Chief Financial Officer, President of Kellogg North America, President of Kellogg International, and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Bryant currently serves on the boards of directors of Macy’s, Coca-Cola European Partners, Compass Group PLC, and Ball Corporation. Mr. Bryant holds a BCOM from Australian National University and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.