During the Certco Inc. Board of Directors meeting in October, EVP David Ryman advised the board of his planned retirement in September of 2024.
Ryman has been in the grocery industry for the past 47 years and with Certco since 2001.
“Dave has been an amazing leader and championed Certco adapting as our retailers’ challenges evolved during his tenure with Certco,” said President Amy Niemetscheck. “In addition, Dave has been a great co-worker and friend to many. Several transitions will happen over the next several months to ensure Dave’s knowledge is passed to others and allow Certco to continue the superior customer service he has been part of.”
Ryman oversees the alignment of Certco’s sales, marketing, category management and procurement departments, along with other duties.
The first transition was effective on Oct. 15, with the promotion of Paul Frey to VP of sales and business development.
Frey has been with Certco since 2017 in the role of manager of business development and store planning. Prior to joining Certco, he had more than 35 years of grocery experience at retail and wholesale.
“Not only has Paul recruited many new stores to join the Certco family, but he has also been sought after by existing stores for his expertise in store operations, financials and other topics,” Niemetscheck said. “He has built strong relationships with our retailer community and has demonstrated his willingness to work with internal departments of category management and marketing to deliver best in class programs that work for the retailers we are servicing.”
Certco will be backfilling the business development manager role soon.
Additional staff alignment changes are anticipated over the next several months as Certco continues the succession planning process, along with a fall 2024 announcement of the succeeding EVP.
Regarding Ryman’s retirement, Niemetscheck said, “He’s not gone yet, however, knowing how fast time goes, we know his final 22 months will go by in a hurry. Congratulations to you, Dave!”
About Certco Inc.
Madison, Wisconsin-based Certco services more than 200 stores throughout Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and Iowa. It has just under 1 million square feet of distribution space with room to grow. Certco currently distributes over 59,000 items for today’s independent grocery retailer.
Read more wholesaler/distributor news at The Shelby Report.
