Rich spent the first half his career in food sales from calling on retail stores and restaurants to national sales leader. The second half of his career was in foodservice distribution. Starting out as Sr. Category Manager for Food Services of America, he rose to be the corporate VP of Category, Management. When the sale of FSA to US Foods was announced in 2018, Rich co-led the integration of brands & products for 3 years. In 2021, Rich started Grow Foodservice LLC to assist manufacturers in successfully entering the foodservice distribution system in the U.S. Current clients include a large, Alaska native owned seafood company, an Italian hemp seed flour & pasta company, a small woman-owned bakery in Brooklyn with big dreams, a maker of premium breaded cheese sticks and an Israeli software company with a unique buying platform for foodservice operators and distributors.

Rich’s new business Partner, Pam Panuccio, was a co-worker and leader at Foodservices of America.