Purchasing veteran Pete Suerken has been named president of consulting firm Resin Technology Inc.
Suerken most recently had been executive vice president for food and packaging procurement at Restaurant Supply Chain Solutions LLC of Louisville, Ky. He also had served on the Advisory Board of Fort Worth, Texas-based RTI since 2012.
At RSCS, Suerken handled $6.5 billion in food and packaging purchases and directed more than $2.8 billion in hedging and financial derivatives. RSCS is the supply chain operation for Yum Brands, whose units include Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut. In his role, Suerken was responsible for strategic sourcing, risk management and commodity trading for more than 20,000 restaurant locations.
Suerken spent 13 years with RSCS, after a nine-year stint with agricultural firm Archer Daniels Midland. He's a graduate of Ohio State University.
For RTI, Suerken will manage all facets of the resin, paper and plastic practices, as well as the Resin Technology Futures Group. Those areas include business strategy, business development, and partnerships.
In a July 20 phone interview, Suerken cited hedging and end-user consultation as areas of future expansion for RTI. “Those can be huge areas of growth for us,” he said.
When Suerken was offered the position at RTI, he said he “couldn't say no to a great team and a great product.”
RTI is a technical advisory firm that enables companies to optimize procurement of their resin, plastic, and paper packaging categories. The firm was founded in 1998 by Garland Strong and Bill Bowie. Both co-founders will continue to be actively involved in RTI as managing partners.
Regarding Suerken, Strong said that he was “delighted to find such a talented and well-respected business leader to assume the role of President of RTI.”
“Bill [Bowie] and I look forward to working closely with Pete…to deliver high value to our clients and take our business to the next level of growth,” he added.