Rich Products announced on Monday, 8 August, Mindy Rich has been named the new chair of the company.
A family-owned food company founded in 1945, Rich Products is the owner of SeaPak, one of the largest frozen seafood retail brands in the world. Its former chair, Robert E. Rich Jr., will continue as the firm's senior chair after serving in the role for 16 years.
“This decision was made after years of very deliberate and careful planning,” Mindy said in a message sent to the company’s employees. “Intentional succession planning is a crucial part of fostering a robust leadership pipeline – especially in a family-led company like ours. We expect and demand that our senior leaders actively participate in this kind of forethought, and we hold ourselves accountable to the same expectations as stewards of Rich Products and our family of businesses.”
Mindy has spent 37 years at Rich Products, and has served as a vice chairman, a member of the board of directors, and as the executive vice president of innovation. In that role, according to a release from Rich Products, she helped accelerate the pace of product development at the company to support its long-term growth strategies. She also served as executive vice chair of Rich Entertainment Group, overseeing the organization’s baseball, theater, restaurant, and travel interests.
“Serving this company as chairman is one of the great honors of my life,” Mindy said. “I’ve had the privilege of being an integral part of Rich’s for nearly four decades and deeply admire and respect what we, as the Rich family, have built over the past 77 years. I have the utmost pride in what our family name stands for and an even deeper desire to preserve and protect what my predecessors worked so hard to establish.”
Robert E. Rich Jr. said the move carries forward a legacy he inherited from his father, Robert E. Rich Sr., who founded Rich Holdings in 1945.
“We are steadfast in our commitment to remaining a private, family-owned company,” he said. “This was a deep desire of our founder, my father, Robert E. Rich Sr. And, over the years, his aspiration morphed into an unwavering, family-wide directive that is as fundamental to our identity as a company as the delicious products we make.”
Robert E. Rich Jr. and Rich Products CEO Richard Ferranti said they are confident in Mindy’s ability to lead the family-owned company, which has over USD 4 billion (EUR 3.9 billion) in annual sales, over 4,000 products, and over 12,500 employees worldwide.
“Mindy’s steadfast support and commitment to remaining a private, family-owned business that’s successful over the long-term cannot be understated,” Ferranti said. “Her leadership as chairman is key as we continue to transform our company to create greater value for our associates, customers and communities for generations to come.”
Photo courtesy of Rich Products Inc.
