New Orleans, Louisiana-based shrimp supplier Paul Piazza & Son Seafood, Inc. has grown its leadership team by two this month.
On 3 February, the company announced that it hired Brian Mesman as its director of retail sales and Jim Flanders as its regional sales manager for Paul Piazza’s premium, wild-caught Gulf shrimp products.
In his new role, Mesman will oversee business with the company’s current retail customers as well as developing relationships with U.S. supermarket chains and other outlets in the sector. A graduate of Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, Mesman comes to the sustainable shrimp firm after serving 25 years at Superior Foods Co. working in various capacities, including as retail account manager, purchasing manager, retail sales manager, and national sales manager. A food distribution specialist, Mesman is already traveling across the U.S. promoting Paul Piazza & Son’s seafood products, according to a company press release.
“We are excited about the experience and professionalism Brian brings team,” Paul Piazza & Son Presdient Kristen Baumer said. “He came highly recommended by retail customers who have worked with him, and his experience translates well to help our customers maximize sales of our premium, wild-caught, Gulf shrimp products.”
Flanders, a graduate of Mercer University, recently completed 16-year stint with foodservice distribution enterprise Sysco, where he served as a corporate executive chef and a seafood specialist for the Dallas and Gulf Coast areas. Most recently, he worked as Sysco’s director of fresh sales for the West Coast and Florida.
“We are privileged to have Jim as a part of our expert team,” Baumer said. “Our wild-caught Gulf shrimp are a premium product, and Jim knows how to help our distributors and end-user restaurant customers get the best return on their shrimp investment through menu design, costing, pairings, strategic order cycles and more.”
Paul Piazza & Son, which has been in business for over 125 years, was named as one of Sysco’s top seafood suppliers in 2017, claiming the Gold Supplier Award.
