Watkins says he plans to take Orion Food Systems to the “next level of foodservice success.”
Hank Suerth, CEO of Orion Food Systems, announced Steve Watkins, chief financial officer, has been promoted to president of Orion Food Systems.
Watkins has been a member of the Orion team for 25 years. He said he plans to continue to serve as Orion’s chief financial officer and director on top of taking the presidential position.
“Steve has played a pivotal role in providing leadership and maintaining the company’s commitment to foodservice excellence,” Suerth said. “He has taken on numerous responsibilities in several key management capacities for over two decades.”
Watkins started his career as a financial analyst for Schwan’s Sale Enterprises, the Orion parent company. He was part of Schwan’s original management team that launched Orion Food Systems. He helped to ease Orion’s master franchise agreement in the Middle East, and was managing director for the company’s international presence in both the U.K. and France.
“Orion Food Systems pioneered the concept of developing high quality foodservice products and brands in c-stores on military bases and in other high-traffic locations almost 25 years ago,” Watkins said.
Orion Food Systems is an international foodservice provider of leading brands such as Hot Stuff and Lettieri’s, and franchises or licenses its foodservice concepts in more than 1,000 locations in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia.