With deep expertise in their respective fields, the 2023 FE&S Top Achievers rise above their peers as they continually move the bar for themselves, their teams and, ultimately, the foodservice industry. This year’s Top Achievers are unapologetic about their passion for their careers, their families, and the industry at large. The way each of these individuals advances every area they touch, from clients to team members, is truly inspirational.

Good advice is good advice — regardless of the source.

Thomas “TJ” Coker, director of operations with Villa Park, Ill.-based Coker Service, has a lifelong connection to the foodservice equipment industry. His uncle, Mike Coker, founded Coker Service in 1984 and TJ started his career with the firm straight out of high school.

Genuine, down to earth, positive, mission driven and compassionate — these are but a few words friends and colleagues use to describe Shannon Solomon. She’s also known for being a servant leader and cheerleader for her school nutrition team at Aurora Public Schools (APS) in Colorado. Solomon wants her team to be the best at whatever they want for themselves. Her leadership approach is straightforward: Hold others accountable with consistency, support, training and love.

Everyone has stories about how they entered the foodservice industry, but Juan Martinez considers his unique. It is also a history-making journey, as he was part of the team that pioneered the application of industrial engineering and ergonomics in foodservice more than 40 years ago.

“Lead with love.” That’s the motto Jamie Arguello, president of Gradys Foodservice & Equipment, continues to follow every day — and she pays no attention to any naysayers.

Foodservice Equipment & Supplies recognized the accomplishments of five foodservice professionals by naming them the recipients of its 2023 Top Achiever Awards.

In an industry of impressive leaders, these five FE&S Top Achievers stand out due to their ability to challenge themselves, their teams and, ultimately, positively influence the foodservice industry at large. Many of this year’s crop of Top Achievers have surprised themselves along the way as their careers and life situations took them on unexpected journeys.

When KaTom Restaurant Supply’sco-founder, Tim Bible, passed away in 2001, his wife and business partner, Patricia Bible, had some tough decisions to make. Not the least of those was what to do with the company. Under the circumstances, selling would have been the easiest and, for many, the most obvious route to take. Doing so crossed her mind but only for a few minutes.

Menu innovation and marketing may be critical for differentiating brands and driving traffic, but it’s equipment and related technologies that represent the real secret weapons for creating thriving, profitable restaurant companies with measurable competitive advantages.

Given Robert Harris’ role as an executive with one of the nation’s largest service agency conglomerates, you might guess his background is in business. In truth, he climbed the ladder through field work, joining what was then Ecolab Equipment Care as a completely green technician in 1995.

Melissa Greenwald has met and done business in an energetic and enthusiastic manner with countless people since her career in the foodservice industry began in earnest back in 2005. But as the president of Greenwald Sales & Marketing, one person in particular stands above all in terms of responsibility for guiding and developing Greenwald into the successful business owner and manufacturers’ representative that she is today.

With his diverse background on the operator side, which included stints as director of catering for the U.S. House of Representatives, director of dining at Harvard University and director for Downtown Disney in Anaheim, Calif., Leonard D. “Lenny” Condenzio, was perfectly positioned to continue rising up the operator ranks. But sometimes life throws a curveball, and in his case, it sent him on a successful path to become CEO of Ricca Design Studios.

Foodservice Equipment & Supplies named the recipients of its 2022 Top Achiever Awards.

Always an impressive group of go-getters, this year’s crop of Top Achievers does not disappoint. They also do not miss a beat when it comes to motivating teams, contributing to the greater good of their segments of the industry and, of course, achieving success in all measures within their primary roles.

Never underestimate the power of networking — even when it’s done late at night over a few drinks. After all, that’s what led Christopher East and Duane Guidry to start Chrane Foodservice Solutions in 2008 and look at Chrane now. The regional rep group serving Texas and Oklahoma has become a model for how to be successful while treating clients and employees with respect. And to think it all began with an after-hours gripe session.

Refrigerated Specialists Inc. (RSI) has been a part of Katie Green’s life for almost as long as she can remember. Her father is a former service technician with the Dallas-area company. As a child in the 1990s, she would spend some weekends with her dad on service calls — “before there were a lot of strict OSHA rules,” Green says.

Gina Brinegar and Costel Coca embarked on their leadership of Webb Foodservice Design in a time of stress and sorrow. Company founder Jim Webb had carefully set up a succession plan to help prepare for his death, but there was no way to really be ready to shoulder that kind of responsibility.

When Mason Greene was attending Mississippi State University (MSU), he was a member of the Bulldogs’ men’s tennis program. During his time in Starkville, Miss., Greene did very well for himself. Not only did he garner both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from MSU, he also was selected for the Southeastern Conference’s All-Academic Team in tennis.

David Reeves and his wife Carolyn always hoped to retire to Florida. Though they weren’t ready to retire, when a job position opened up at Lee Health in Fort Myers, Fla., Reeves jumped at the opportunity to move to the Sunshine State. He started his position as system director, food and nutrition services with Lee Health on Oct. 5, 2020.

Foodservice Equipment & Supplies named the recipients of its 2021 Top Achiever Awards. These individual awards recognize professionals from five industry segments for their abilities to not only run market-leading companies but also raise the level of professionalism for the industry overall.

Not many can say they have been working in the foodservice industry for a half a century — or more if you count childhood activities. Harry Schildkraut can. But most of you knew that already.

Regardless of their origins, disruptive forces share one common trait: they come into an industry with little to no notice, do their thing and change the course of business as usual forever.

Consolidation, e-commerce, mergers, acquisitions and a continually changing array of unpredicted disruptive forces — welcome to today’s foodservice world. As a result, operators continue to evolve into much more elusive players, facing more financial pressures and with increasingly sophisticated needs. Product knowledge is simply no longer enough for the supply chain to serve today’s operator. To meet the demands of these operators, each of us in the foodservice supply chain must shift to a needs-based, consultative selling approach.

Kelly Roddy joined fast-casual chain Saladworks in August 2019 after 12 years of leading Schlotzsky’s, a sandwich fast-casual. He’s now positioning Saladworks to take full advantage of its niche as an established good-for-you brand despite so many others joining the party. The chain has established an ambitious goal — to double the number of Saladworks units by taking advantage of some underused nontraditional markets.