Joe Carlson will retire from his post as president of Lakeside Manufacturing/Sandstone Group effective Feb. 1, 2021. He has spent 26 years with the company.

Carlson will serve a limited advisory role until March 1, 2022 “to support the succession needs of the business as well as his other industry commitments,” per a company release.

“I am excited to begin the next chapter of my life to focus more time on my family, nonprofit leadership roles, and support our industry in various capacities,” Carlson says in a statement.

Carlson’s retirement was part of a succession plan that had been in the works for some time. “We began planning for Joe’s retirement in 2019,” says Larry Moon, chairman Sandstone Group. In September 2020 the company appointed John Baker to the newly created role of executive vice president of sales for Sandstone.

In addition to serving as president of Lakeside Manufacturing/Sandstone Group, Carlson was active within the foodservice industry and served as president of the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers from 2017-2019.