TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Peco Foods, the nation’s eighth largest poultry company, has announced Steve Evans as its chief commercial officer. In this position, Evans will be responsible for driving progress in developing and implementing the corporate commercialization strategy, building a cutting-edge infrastructure to grow the market for Peco’s products and increasing revenue growth.
“We have been fortunate to work with Steve in a consulting capacity since October and are thrilled to welcome him to our leadership team in this much-needed role after a long vacancy,” said Peco Foods President and CEO Mark Hickman.
A Georgia State University graduate, Evans completed advanced studies at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. With more than 30 years in senior leadership at Perdue Foods and three years as company president, and Allen-Harim. Evans brings wide-ranging expertise in sales, marketing, product development, supply chain, customer service and more, the company noted.
In addition to years of industry expertise, Evans has a national presence as a board member and past chair of the marketing committee for the National Chicken Council. He is also a member of the Salisbury University Perdue School of Business Executive Advisory Council and a member of numerous advisory boards.
“After working with Peco in some capacity over the past several months, I’m looking forward to permanently joining the leadership team of a family-owned company whose core values are aligned with my own,” Evans said. “My job is to bring our corporate commercialization strategy to life, which we’re excited to share more about in the coming months.”
Peco Foods has also announced that it has created three new positions after restructuring the sales and marketing department. This restructuring creates leadership roles suited for each team members’ strengths, including senior corporate director of sales and product marketing–commodity; corporate director of sales and product marketing–value added; and manager of marketing services.
“To continue being a competitive producer of quality products, part of my role is to create a focus on value-added products and product marketing,” Hickman said. “This restructure is part of our strategic plan to be a world-class food company and the individuals shifting their roles will help further this initiative.”
Bobby Wilburn will assume the senior corporate director of sales and marketing–commodity role, overseeing all domestic and international commodity sales, balancing product mix and sales strategy. Wilburn has been a vital part of Peco since 1985. A graduate of the University of Alabama, he gained valuable industry experience with Spring Valley Farms and Sanderson Farms before joining the Peco team.
Scott Alexander, in his new role as corporate director of sales and product marketing– value added, will lead quality innovation for foodservice, national accounts and retail accounts. Shortly after graduating from the University of Southern Mississippi, Alexander joined the Peco team in 1993, serving in various sales positions until he was named director of further processed sales in 2017. In his new role Alexander will ensure the company continues to lead the industry in product quality and innovation.
Sydney Hickman will assume her new role as manager of marketing services, coordinating all marketing communications, events, customer visits and product package design. After graduating from the University of Alabama, Hickman joined Peco’s Management Training Program in 2018 and has since developed relationships with team members across the company to build a hands-on working knowledge of Peco’s overall operations at every level of the organization.
“I’m looking forward to working directly with these highly-skilled team members to bring our strategic plan to life,” Evans said. “Together we will continue to bring quality products to our customers while prioritizing the health, sustainability and wellbeing of our team, communities and animals.”
Peco Foods supplies a broad range of products and services to national restaurant chains, regional foodservice distributors, retail grocers and international accounts. Headquartered in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Peco has more than 7,000 team members across Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi.
