DAYVILLE, Conn., Jan. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
United Natural Foods, Inc. (Nasdaq: UNFI) today announced the appointment of
Rick D. Puckett to the positions of Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
and Treasurer. In his new position, Mr. Puckett will be responsible for the
Company's finance, accounting and treasury functions. Mr. Puckett will replace
Todd Weintraub, who had served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since
April 2001, effective January 6, 2003. Michael Funk, Chairman of the Board,
stated, "Todd has been a valuable member of our management team and we wish
him every success in his new endeavors."
Commenting on the appointment, Steven Townsend, President and Chief
Executive Officer, said, "We are very pleased that Rick has joined United
Natural Foods in this key position. With more than 25 years experience working
for public and private companies in the distribution and service sectors, Rick
brings an outstanding blend of strategic financial planning experience, strong
accounting skills and technical systems expertise. Additionally, Rick has
extensive operating experience pertaining to mergers and acquisitions,
integrating acquired companies as well as implementing financial IT systems.
We are confident that Rick's extensive skill set will enable him to provide
United Natural Foods with a strong financial foundation to support our
long-term growth initiatives."
Prior to joining United Natural Foods, Mr. Puckett worked for four years
at Suntory Water Group, Inc, where he held several executive positions
including Chief Financial Officer, Chief Information Officer, Vice President,
Corporate Controller and Vice President, Business Development and Planning.
During his tenure at Suntory Water Group, a subsidiary of Suntory Limited of
Japan with annual sales of approximately $550 million, Mr. Puckett was
involved in the acquisition and integration of more than two dozen companies
as well as the successful development and implementation of a company-wide
ERP/CRM information systems. Suntory Water Group sells and distributes water
and related products to retail, residential and commercial customers under
regional brand names, including Belmont Springs, Crystal Springs, Kentwood
Springs, Hinckley Springs and Sierra Springs.
Previously, Mr. Puckett worked for INFOUSA, a Nasdaq-listed information
services company with annual revenues of approximately $300 million. From 1997
to 1998 he served as Vice President, Corporate Controller and served for a
limited time as acting Chief Financial Officer in 1998. At INFOUSA, he was
responsible for finance, accounting, financial reporting, strategic planning,
purchasing, human resources and facilities and administration.
From 1994 to 1997, Mr. Puckett served as Vice President, Finance of Dairy
Enterprises Corporation, a consumer products distribution company, where he
was responsible for finance, reporting, and accounting and analysis. During
his tenure, Rick handled five separate acquisition, merger and disposition
transactions. A private investor group acquired Dairy Enterprises in 1997.
From 1989 to 1994, Mr. Puckett worked as Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer at Misco North America, a direct marketing electronic
component distribution company and a U.S. subsidiary of a United Kingdom
distribution company. As Chief Financial Officer he led a conversion to a
fully integrated computerized financial system. Rick also served on the U.S.
Board of Directors of Misco North America. Misco North America was acquired in
1994 by a private entity.
Mr. Puckett also served for 14 years at General Cable Corporation, a
telecommunications manufacturing company, in a variety of managerial
positions, culminating in his appointment as Assistant Corporate Controller.
Mr. Puckett is a Certified Public Accountant and received an MBA in
Finance and a BA in Accounting from the University of Kentucky.
About United Natural Foods
United Natural Foods, Inc. carries and distributes over 30,500 products to
more than 11,000 customers nationwide. The Company serves a wide variety of
retail formats including conventional supermarket chains, natural product
superstores and independent retail operators.
For more information on United Natural Foods, Inc., visit the Company's
web-site at www.unfi.com.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding United Natural's business
which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve
risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties,
which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the
forward-looking statements, including but not limited to general business
conditions, the impact of competition and our dependence on principal
customers, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q
filed with the Commission on December 13, 2002, and its other filings under
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Any forward-looking
statements are made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995 and, as such, speak only as of the date made. United Natural is not
undertaking to update any information in the foregoing reports until the
effective date of its future reports required by applicable laws.
SOURCE United Natural Foods, Inc.
-0- 01/02/2003
/CONTACT: Steven Townsend, President & Chief Executive Officer of United
Natural Foods, Inc., +1-860-779-2800; General Information - Joseph Calabrese,
+1-212-445-8434, or Analyst Information - Vanessa Schwartz, +1-212-445-8433,
both of FRB | Weber Shandwick for United Natural Foods/