Leadership

Thomas J. Harrington, of Tampa, Florida, U.S.A., was appointed as our Chief Executive Officer effective as of the beginning of 2019. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Harrington served as the Chief Executive Officer of our North America business unit since our acquisition of DS Services in December 2014 and was appointed President Route Based Services in July 2016. Prior to the acquisition, Mr. Harrington served in various roles with DS Services from 2004 to 2014, including Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Operating Officer, West Division President, and Senior Vice President, Central Division. Prior to joining DS Services, Mr. Harrington served in various roles with Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. including Vice President and General Manager of Coca-Cola Enterprises New York and Chicago divisions. He also served in various sales and marketing roles with Pepperidge Farm from 1979 to 1985. Mr. Harrington previously served as a member of the board of directors of the National Automatic Merchandising Association, the International Bottled Water Association and the Water Quality Association. He has served on our Board since the beginning of 2019.

Jerry Fowden, of St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.A., was our Chief Executive Officer from 2009 until the end of 2018, at which point he became our Executive Chairman. Beginning in the second quarter of 2020, he transitioned to the role of Chairman. Prior to his service as our Chief Executive Officer, he served as President of our international operating segment, Interim President North America and Interim President of our UK and European business from 2007 to 2009. Prior to joining Primo, Mr. Fowden served as Chief Executive Officer of Trader Media Group (now known as Autotrader plc) and was a member of the Guardian Media Group plc’s board of directors from 2005 to 2007. Prior to this time, Mr. Fowden served in a variety of roles at multiple companies, including global Chief Operating Officer of ABInBev S.A. Belgium, an alcoholic beverage company, Chief Executive Officer of Bass Brewers Ltd., a subsidiary of AB InBev S.A. Belgium, Managing Director of the Rank Group plc’s Hospitality and Holiday Division and member of the Rank Group plc’s board of directors, Chief Executive Officer of Hero AG’s European beverage operations and various roles within PepsiCo Inc.’s beverage operations and Mars, Incorporated’s pet food operations. Mr. Fowden currently serves on the board of directors of Constellation Brands Inc., a premium alcoholic beverage company, and is a member of its Corporate Governance Committee and Chair of its Human Resources Committee. Mr. Fowden also serves on the board of directors of British American Tobacco p.l.c., a leading consumer goods company, and is a member of its Audit Committee and its Nominations Committee. Mr. Fowden previously served as a member of the board of directors of the American Beverage Association and the British Soft Drinks Association. He has served on our Board since 2009.

Britta Bomhard, of Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.A., is the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Church & Dwight Co., Inc., an S&P 500 company and maker of Arm & Hammer baking soda and other branded household, personal care and specialty products. She has held this position since 2016. She previously held the role of President of Europe at Church & Dwight from 2013 to 2016. From 2005 to 2013, Ms. Bomhard held the general manager role for Energizer Holdings, Inc. in Spain & Portugal and Nordics & Austria as well as a variety of marketing roles. Prior to Energizer, Ms. Bomhard worked for Wella AG and GlaxoSmithKline in their marketing organizations. Ms. Bomhard has served on our Board since November 2018.

Susan E. Cates, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.A., is a Partner of Leeds Equity Partners, a private equity firm investing in the Knowledge Industries, and the Managing Partner of Leeds Illuminate, the firm’s growth equity investment entity. She serves on the Board of Advisors at Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she co-chaired the Nominations and Governance Committee from 2016 through 2020. Ms. Cates served on the board of the legacy Primo business for six years prior to our acquisition of such business. She served on the audit committee of that board and was appointed lead independent director in January 2019. Ms. Cates served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Association of College and University Educators from 2019 to 2021, and as Chief Operating Officer of 2U, Inc., a leading provider of digital education services to universities around the world, from 2016 to 2017. Prior to joining 2U, Ms. Cates served as the President of Executive Development at UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School from 2008 to 2016, and as the founding Executive Director of MBA@UNC from 2010 to 2016. Prior to joining UNC, Ms. Cates was a partner with Best Associates, a Dallas-based private equity firm, where she led the identification, acquisition and oversight of multiple domestic and international companies operating in the education sector, including leading M&A efforts for Best Associates’ largest portfolio company and closing a series of acquisitions and partnerships in South America. Prior to joining Best Associates, she co-founded ThinkEquity Partners, a boutique investment bank in New York, with former colleagues from Merrill Lynch & Co. At ThinkEquity, Ms. Cates headed the education investment banking practice with responsibility for business development, client relationships and deal execution. Prior to co-founding ThinkEquity, she worked in investment banking at Merrill Lynch in New York, as well as in corporate lending at Wachovia Bank in Atlanta. She has served on our Board since May 2020.

Stephen H. Halperin, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is of counsel at the law firm of Goodmans LLP. He was a partner with Goodmans from 1987 until his retirement from the partnership at the end of 2017. He is a member of the Board of Governors of McGill University and the nominating, governance and ethics committee of that board, and is on the board of directors of Our Family Office Ltd, a private company registered as an investment advisor under Canadian law. Mr. Halperin previously served on the board of trustees of KCP Income Fund, a custom manufacturer of national brand and retailer brand consumer products, and on the board of directors of Gluskin Sheff + Associates, Inc., a TSX-listed wealth management company. He has also served on the boards of five other publicly listed issuers. He has served on our Board since 1992.

Betty Jane (BJ) Hess, of Naples, Florida, U.S.A., was Senior Vice President, Office of the President, of Arrow Electronics, Inc., an electronics distributor listed on the NYSE, for five years prior to her retirement in 2004. At Arrow Electronics, Inc., Ms. Hess was responsible for global operations and led or participated in the integration of 62 acquisitions in the United States, Europe and Asia over a 20-year period. She served on the board of directors of the ServiceMaster Company, a company providing home maintenance and lawn care services, and Harvest Power, a firm specializing in the management of organic waste. Ms. Hess is the protagonist in case studies at Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan School of Management on integration strategy and operational excellence in the supply chain at Arrow Electronics, Inc. She has served on our Board since 2004.

Gregory Monahan, of Darien, Connecticut, U.S.A., has been a Senior Managing Director of Crescendo Partners, L.P., a New York-based investment firm, since December 2014. Prior to December 2014, he served as Managing Director of Crescendo Partners and has held various positions at Crescendo Partners since May 2005. He is also a Managing Member and Portfolio Manager for Jamarant Capital, LP, a private investment firm. Previously, he was co-founder of Bind Network Solutions, a consulting firm focused on network infrastructure and security. Mr. Monahan is currently on the board of directors of Absolute Software Corp., a leader in firmware-embedded endpoint security and management for computers and ultra-portable devices. He previously served on the board of directors of BSM Technologies Inc., a global commercial fleet telematics provider, COM DEV International Ltd., a supplier of space equipment and services, SAExploration Holdings Inc., a seismic data services company, ENTREC Corporation, a heavy haul and crane services provider, Bridgewater Systems, a telecommunications software provider, and O’Charley’s Inc., a multi-concept restaurant company. Mr. Monahan has served on our Board since June 2008.

Mario Pilozzi, of Oakville, Ontario, Canada, was, until January 2008, President and Chief Executive Officer of Wal-Mart Canada Corp. He joined Wal-Mart Canada in 1994 as Vice-President of Hardline Merchandise and was promoted to Senior Vice-President of Merchandise and Sales, and later Chief Operating Officer, before serving as President and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining Wal-Mart Canada, Mr. Pilozzi held a broad range of positions with Woolworth Canada Inc. spanning more than 30 years, including the positions of Vice-President of Hardline Merchandise, Administrator of Store Openings, District Manager, Store Manager and several other key roles in Woolworth’s variety and discount-store divisions. Since his retirement in 2008, Mr. Pilozzi has served as a consultant for WalMart’s businesses in Puerto Rico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, China and Japan. Mr. Pilozzi has served on our Board since June 2008.

Billy D. Prim, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, U.S.A., founded the legacy Primo business in 2004 and served on that board since inception and served as Executive Chairman from June 2017 until the closing of our acquisition of the legacy Primo business in March 2020. Prior to founding legacy Primo, Mr. Prim founded Blue Rhino Corporation, a provider of propane cylinder exchange and complementary propane and non-propane products, in March 1994 and served as its Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the board. Mr. Prim led Blue Rhino’s initial public offering in May 1998 and remained its Chief Executive Officer until April 2004, when Blue Rhino was acquired by Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. at which time he was elected to the board of directors of Ferrellgas on which he served until November 2008. Mr. Prim previously served on the board of directors of Southern Community Bank and Trust from 1996 through 2005, its previous parent company, Southern Community Financial Corporation, and Towne Park Ltd. Mr. Prim also serves on the Wake Forest School of Business Board of Visitors and the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine Advisory Board. He has served on our Board since May 2020.

Eric Rosenfeld, of New York, New York, U.S.A., has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of Crescendo Partners, L.P., a New York-based investment firm, since its formation in November 1998. Prior to forming Crescendo Partners, he held the position of Managing Director at CIBC Oppenheimer and its predecessor company Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. for 14 years. Mr. Rosenfeld currently serves as Chairman Emeritus for CPI Aerostructures Inc., a company engaged in the contract production of structural aircraft parts. He is also on the board at Pangaea Logistics Solutions Ltd., a logistics and shipping company, and Aecon Group Inc., a construction company. In addition, Mr. Rosenfeld is the CEO of Allegro Merger Corp., a shell company, and the Chief SPAC Officer of Legato Merger Corp., a special purpose acquisition company. Mr. Rosenfeld has also served as Chairman and CEO for Arpeggio Acquisition Corporation, Rhapsody Acquisition Corporation, Trio Merger Corp., Quartet Merger Corp. and Harmony Merger Corp., all blank check corporations that later merged with Hill International, Primoris Services Corporation, SAExploration Holdings Inc., Pangaea Logistics Solutions Ltd. and NextDecade Corporation, respectively. He was also a director of Canaccord Genuity Group Inc., a full-service financial services company, NextDecade Corporation, a development stage company building natural gas liquefaction plants, Absolute Software Corp., a leader in firmware-embedded endpoint security and management for computers and ultraportable devices, AD OPT Technologies Inc., an airline crew planning service, Sierra Systems Group Inc., an information technology, management consulting and systems integration firm, Emergis Inc., an electronic commerce company, Hill International, a construction management firm, Matrikon Inc., a company that provides industrial intelligence solutions, DALSA Corp., a digital imaging and semiconductor firm, HIP Interactive, a video game company, GEAC Computer Corporation, a software company, Computer Horizons Corp. (Chairman), an IT services company, Pivotal Corp, a cloud software firm, Call-Net Enterprises, a telecommunication firm, Primoris Services Corporation, a specialty construction company, and SAExploration Holdings Inc., a seismic exploration company. Mr. Rosenfeld is a regular guest lecturer at Columbia Business School and has served on numerous panels at Queen’s University Business Law School Symposia, McGill Law School, the World Presidents’ Organization and the Value Investing Congress. He is a senior faculty member at the Director’s College. He has also been a regular guest host on CNBC. Mr. Rosenfeld has served on our Board since June 2008 and is our Lead Independent Director.

Graham W. Savage, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a corporate director. Between 2002 and 2007, Mr. Savage served as the Chairman of Callisto Capital L.P., a Toronto-based private equity firm. Prior to this, since 1998, Mr. Savage was Managing Director at Savage Walker Capital Inc., Callisto Capital L.P.’s predecessor. Between 1975 and 1996, Mr. Savage was with Rogers Communications Inc. in various positions culminating in being appointed the Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer, a position he held for seven years. In addition, Mr. Savage serves on the board of Postmedia Network Canada Corp. He has also previously served on the boards of Canadian Tire Corporation, Rogers Communications Inc., Alias Corp., Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. and Royal Group Technologies Limited, among others. Mr. Savage has served on our Board since February 2008.

Steven P. Stanbrook, of Racine, Wisconsin, U.S.A., is a corporate director, currently serving on the boards of directors for Group 1 Automotive, Inc., an international automotive retailer listed on the NYSE, and Imperial Brands PLC, a multinational company listed on the London Stock Exchange. Additionally, he is an Executive Advisory Partner at Wind Point Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, where he serves on the Board of Directors of one of their portfolio companies, Voyant Beauty LLC, a contract manufacturer of personal and beauty care products. Mr. Stanbrook previously served on the board of directors of The Vollrath Company, LLC, a privately owned commercial and institutional foodservice equipment supplier, Hewitt Associates, Inc., a provider of human capital and management consulting services, and Chiquita Brands International, Inc., a producer and distributor of fresh fruit and produce, fruit ingredients and other processed foods, both listed on the NYSE. From 1996 to 2015, Mr. Stanbrook served in various roles at S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., a global manufacturer of consumer products, including Chief Operating Officer, International Markets. Prior to S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., he served as Chief Executive Officer of Sara Lee Bakery. Mr. Stanbrook has served on our Board since November 2018. The Board nominated Mr. Stanbrook to be a director because he has extensive executive experience gained through his various roles with international consumer packaged goods businesses and extensive governance experience gained from serving on the boards of multinational companies.