Kari-Out Company, a leading manufacturer of sauces, paper, aluminum and plastic products in the restaurant takeout industry today announced the addition of John Inwright to the Board of Advisors. Mr. Inwright is a highly accomplished leader and innovator in the Supply Chain Industry. His appointment significantly contributes to Kari-Out’s strategic efforts to achieve growth through product innovation, strong supplier relations, and talented leadership.
“We are delighted to have John as part of our growing team. His vast experience, integrity and leadership skills will support and accelerate Kari-Out’s passion for growth and industry leadership.” – Paul Epstein, President and CEO
John Inwright Joins Kari-Out Board: A Longtime Admirer
Adding someone of Mr. Inwright’s professional caliber is further evidence of Kari-Out Company’s commitment to investing in capabilities and talent to drive aggressive growth—contributing to the company’s emergence as a leader in the foodservice industry. Mr. Inwright began his career in food service as a 12-year-old fry cook at a boardwalk restaurant in New Jersey. Prior to joining the Kari-Out Company board, he led the creation and development of Wendy’s Quality Supply Chain Cooperative, Inc. (QSCC) in 2009. He served as President and CEO until January 2021. Under Mr. Inwright’s leadership, QSCC grew to become the 3rd largest QSR Co-op with nearly $4 billion dollars in buying power.
Previous foodservice leadership roles include EVP & Chief Procurement Officer of U.S. Foodservice, one of the country’s largest foodservice distributors and SVP of Purchasing for Unified Foodservice Purchasing Co-op, LLC (now known as RSCS, the supply chain co-op for Yum! Brands and its franchisees).
As Kari-Out Company strives to build industry relationships to support future growth, Mr. Inwright’s reputation throughout the foodservice industry will be a significant benefit. He is widely recognized for his relationship-building skills with supplier trading partners and as a breakthrough leader in the development of high-performance associates and teams.
“After our latest acquisition of Sanfacon VA, Kari-Out now employs over 500 team members across six U.S. based facilities and we are focused on strategic growth initiatives and partnerships. John’s addition to our accomplished board of advisors puts Kari-Out in a strong position for the future” – Charles Kummel, CFO
Mr. Inwright previously served as co-chair for the Supply Chain Sub-Committee of the National Council of Chain Restaurants. He further served, via invitation, two of the world’s leading corporate think-tanks, The Conference Board and the Corporate Executive Board. Today, John serves as Chairman of GS1 US, and previously chaired the Audit & Finance committee.
“I have known the Kari-Out Company and its capabilities for many years. I am honored to have been invited to join the Board of Kari-Out. It is a privilege to serve this outstanding enterprise and to support the Epstein family and their expanding leadership team to accelerate their strategic growth initiatives and key industry partnerships.”
Mr. Inwright’s addition contributes significantly to the collective knowledge and industry experience of Kari-Out Company’s board. Mike Hastings joined Kari-Out Company’s board in 2016. Mr. Hastings has more than 40 years of sales, marketing and manufacturing experience in the Foodservice Packaging space including senior leadership positions with leading companies such as Thompson Industries (EPS), Scott Paper, and Anchor Packaging. Over the last 20 years, he has focused on leading turnarounds and start up opportunities as President of such companies as Fonda Group, Sweetheart Cup Company, and Eco Products. Mr. Hastings also has board experience for a variety of foodservice-related companies.
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Michael Burnell joined the Kari-Out Board in 2014, bringing a highly diverse background. His early career focused on Fortune 500 companies in the energy, steel and heavy equipment industries. For more than 25 years beginning in the early 1980s, he became involved with privately held businesses which had a need to refocus and perform at a higher level. During this time, he held Chief-level roles in a variety of industries including apparel, consumer hardware, food processing, consumer electronics, specialty packaging and adhesives. Mr. Burnell co-founded and served as President & CEO for a medical device company to commercialize an innovative retinal technology for macular degeneration. He is currently President for a number of US subsidiaries of a publicly held Canadian energy firm.
For the past 20 years, Mr. Burnell has served on more than 25 Boards for privately held companies ranging in size from $10 million in annual revenue to $1 billion.
About Kari-Out:
Founded in 1964, Kari-Out is a family-owned company with over 55 years of diversified manufacturing experience in to-go food packaging in the United States. The company employs over 500 people and has six facilities throughout North America supplying independent and national food service distributors. In line with the company’s mission to be environmentally responsible, two of Kari-Out’s largest production facilities are powered by solar energy. For more information, please visit www.kariout.com.
