UNFI Taps Dean Foods Executive for Atlantic Region President

United Natural Foods Inc. has appointed Chris Finck to the position of Atlantic Region president, which was vacant following Mark Bushway’s promotion to chief supply chain officer. Finck will join UNFI on May 1 and oversee the region’s sales team, the company said in a release. Earlier this year, UNFI appointed Coca-Cola veteran Louis Martin to the newly created position of chief strategy and transformation officer.

Chris Finck

“Chris is a well-rounded, highly passionate, and results-driven leader with a strong track record for building effective teams and delivering strategic sales capabilities,” said UNFI Chief Customer Officer Steve Dietz in a statement. “With his leadership background and significant experience in the food industry, Chris understands the challenges facing today’s marketplace and, along with the Atlantic Region team, will provide innovative and meaningful solutions that help our customers grow and succeed.”

In the new role, Finck will report to Dietz and lead the Atlantic Region sales team with “accountability to support customers with UNFI’s full portfolio of comprehensive products and services,” UNFI said in a statement.

Through his 34 years of commercial, sales, marketing, operations and general management experience, Finck most recently was chief commercial officer for Dean Foods. Prior to that, he was the chief customer officer of Treehouse Foods.

Finck also spent time at Grupo Bimbo as chief customer officer, as well as SVP of sale for Sara Lee’s bakery division. Prior to his work at Grupo Bimbo, Finck spent nearly 20 years with PepsiCo, holding positions of increasing responsibility, including account manager, regional sales manager and market development manager for Pepsi beverages; director of strategic planning and integration for Quaker Oats; and VP of U.S. sales for Gatorade. Finck holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Towson University and an MBA from Loyola College.

In addition to his work in the food industry, Finck serves on the mayor’s advisory board for the city of Naperville, Ill. He is also a member of the board of directors for Little Friends, which provides services to those with autism and other developmental disabilities.