McLane taps grocery veteran Jon Cox to lead retail foodservice

McLane Co. has tapped grocery and convenience retail veteran Jon Cox to serve as vice president of retail foodservice, a newly created position.

Temple, Texas-based McLane said Wednesday it created the new VP post to drive an enhanced retail foodservice program, providing retailers with an augmented selection of on-trend, immediate-consumption items. Offerings include beverage programs, commissary products like fresh sandwiches and salads, and meals for all times of the day.

Cox will be responsible for developing and scaling McLane’s retail foodservice strategy across all retail channels, including convenience, grocery, club, drug and discount, the distributor said. He reports to customer experience officer Vito Maurici.

“I am proud to join McLane’s team at an exciting time and honored to lead our vision for the future,” Cox said in a statement. “Retail foodservice is growing rapidly, and McLane is elevating our programs to deliver innovative solutions that meet the unique needs of our customers, wherever they are on their journey.”

Jon Cox, vice president of retail foodservice at McLane. / Photo courtesy of McLane Co.

Cox, who joined McLane in late February, has more than 25 years of leadership experience in the retail, grocery and convenience store arena. Previously, he was VP and chief merchandising officer for GetGo Café Market and WetGo and spent nearly 10 years at parent company Giant Eagle, including various roles at GetGo plus four years as a fresh food director across the Pittsburgh-based grocer’s retail formats. McLane noted that as GetGo’s chief merchant, Cox led the integration of the acquired Ricker’s c-store chain, with 56 locations in Indiana.

Before GetGo/Giant Eagle, Cox served over two years as divisional merchandise manager for food and drug at Kmart parent Sears Holdings Corp. and as director of produce and floral and director of operations during more than three-and-a-half years at Ahold Delhaize USA’s Giant Food. That followed a dozen years at Texas grocer H-E-B, including leadership roles in merchandising, marketing and store operations.

McLane reported Cox’s appointment to the foodservice role on Wednesday in announcing McLane Engage, a trade show for retailers and suppliers scheduled for Aug. 29 to 31 in Dallas. The event will feature booths from more than 160 exhibitors, as well as a new products showcase. That includes new retail foodservice products and programs, bolstered by McLane’s full-service solutions that give retailers access to equipment, training and menu innovation resources.

“We look forward to debuting new programs at Engage,” Cox stated.

One of the nation’s largest supply-chain companies, McLane distributes grocery, foodservice and nonfood products to convenience stores, mass merchants, drug stores, supermarkets and chain restaurants. Its McLane Grocery and McLane Foodservice divisions operate more than 80 distribution centers and one of the country’s largest private fleets. A Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary, McLane also distributes alcoholic beverages through its Empire Distributors subsidiary.