C&S Names New Chief Commercial Officer

C&S Wholesale Grocers has appointed consumer goods and food industry veteran Joe Cavaliere as chief commercial officer, a newly created position, effective Sept. 4.

Cavaliere brings with him more than 30 years of experience, including his most recent role as president and global chief customer officer for Newell Brands. Known in the industry as a strategic leader in customer development, Cavaliere has also directed national sales organizations at Kraft Foods and Unilever.

“Joe is a results-driven, strategic leader focused on people leadership, customer development and identifying creative solutions for solving customer issues,” said Mike Duffy, CEO of Keene, N.H.-based C&S Wholesale Grocers, in a statement. “He has a passion for building high-performing teams and developing new capabilities, and will be instrumental in defining solutions to help our customers win.”

The largest wholesale grocery supply company in the U.S., C&S supplies independent supermarkets, chain stores and institutions with more than 140,000 products ranging from fresh food to household items. The company in January introduced Duffy as its new CEO, and he has been leading C&S’s strategic development, customer satisfaction and day-to-day operations.

C&S said it created the new chief commercial officer role to enhance its focus on customer collaboration and innovation for the evolving grocery retail landscape. Cavaliere will be responsible for staying on top of consumer trends and expanding the company’s business partnerships.

Related:C&S Names Mike Duffy as New CEO

“C&S has an impressive legacy of innovation and delivers distribution excellence for the lowest cost in the food business,” said Cavaliere. “In the years ahead, we have a unique opportunity to build on this success to leverage industry-leading capabilities to become the undisputed partner of choice for growth.”

Cavaliere serves on the board of directors for Sprout Foods. He has previously served on the boards of Habitat for Humanity, Breakthrough Atlanta, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Foundation, RILA (Retail Industry Leaders Association) and Enactus. He has a bachelor's degree in economics and business administration from Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pa.