In a move to further integrate the companies’ products and services, Ali Group North America and Welbilt have merged and will now go to market in North America under the Welbilt name. In support of the merger the company made a series of organizational changes.

The corporate executives of the newly formed North American group include Filippo Berti, chairman and chief executive officer; Bradford Willis, chief financial officer; Rob August, executive vice president, with focus on sales and distribution and Tom Hotard, executive vice president, with focus on operations and engineering. Current Welbilt CEO Kevin Clark will now serve on the North American group’s board of directors, focusing on “special projects such as those that will facilitate the integration of Ali Group North American companies into Welbilt,” per a release.

“This strategic move leverages Welbilt’s strong brand reputation, significant market presence, comprehensive customer solutions and well-established relationships particularly within the QSR sector, with the goal of offering the most complete turnkey solutions package in the industry,” said Berti in a statement.

As part of this transition, the company also created a new group president role. Serving in this role are Nate Jackson, Will Means, Erica Motes, and Oscar Villa. Ali Group plans to announce which companies are aligned with these leaders later.

Also, Ali Group and Welbilt companies outside of North America are not affected by this change, per a release.

Erik NommsenIn addition, Erik Nommsen will now serve as Ali Group’s CEO for the company’s EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and APAC (Asia-Pacific) regions, effective August 31, 2024. Nommsen, who has served as CEO of Ali Group North America since 2022, replaces Andrea Cocchi. No stranger to Ali Group and its many brands, Nommsen joined Champion Industries in 2008, where he served as president for six years. After a two-year break in another industry, Nommsen returned to Champion in 2016 as president. In 2017, he became president of the Ali Group North America – Refrigeration Division. From 2019 to 2023, he also served as president of Scotsman Ice Systems. Cochi had been with Ali Group since 1998 and had been CEO of the company’s EMEA and APAC regions since 2019.

After a year-long process, Ali Group completed its acquisition of Welbilt late in the summer of 2022.