Their years of experience have created a solid foundation for Gold Star as a national food service distributor with valuable partnerships with customers and suppliers, first-rate capabilities and customer service unlike any other.
Mr. Leer is the Chief Executive Officer of GS Foods Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries Good Source Solutions, Inc. and Gold Star Foods, Inc. He joined Gold Star as Vice President of Sales & Marketing in 2008. Prior to Gold Star, Mr. Leer was the Region Manager for PortionPac Chemical Corporation, Chicago IL and President of Pacific Support Systems Lynnwood, WA. He has worked extensively on School Meal and Child Nutrition Programs throughout the United States. His industry work for over 25 years involves many board assignments with the School Nutrition Association, American Commodity Distribution Association as well as local Hunger and Good Food initiatives. Currently, he is the School Nutrition Association’s Industry Advisory Board Chair. Recognized for his contributions to the School Nutrition Industry as the recipient of the 2013 School Nutrition Association Industry Member of the Year.
Mr. Leer holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Washington.
Mr. Salmon is currently the Chief Administrative Officer at Gold Star Foods, Inc. Mr. Salmon has over 10 years of experience in the food and hospitality industries. Prior to joining the Company in 2014, Mr. Salmon spent seven years practicing corporate law in New York City at two international law firms, focusing on M&A, Corporate Finance and Private Investment Funds. Mr. Salmon also spent two years as the Senior Corporate Counsel for Strategic Development at a NYSE-listed leisure and hospitality company headquartered in Colorado.
Mr. Salmon holds a joint JD/MBA from Vanderbilt University Law School and Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management.
Mr. Benne is the Chief Commercial Officer of GS Foods Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries Good Source Solutions, Inc. and Gold Star Foods, Inc. He has over 20 years of experience in the food service industry with The Schwan’s Company, Advance Pierre Foods and most recently, Tyson Foods. Mr. Benne has worked extensively on School Meal and Child Nutrition Programs throughout the United States and has held a role on the School Nutrition Foundation Board of Directors.
Mr. Benne holds a B.A. in Business Administration from Bellarmine University, Louisville, KY and an MBA from Webster University, New Albany, IN.
Mr. Beedie is the Chief Operating Officer & President of our Foodservice Business Distribution for GS Foods Group, Inc. He has over 30 years in the foodservice industry with the majority of his career spent with US Foods. The past 17 years he has held Division and Area President roles within US Foods in Milwaukee, Tampa, Los Angeles, and multiple business units in Southern CA including Los Angeles, Corona, and San Diego. During 2017 – 2019 Mr. Beedie also had the experience of standing up a Shared Business Service organization for the entire US Foods corporation. He has worked with large sales and supply chain teams to gain efficiencies, improve service levels and grow market share in some very diverse and complex business units.
Mr. Beedie holds a B.A. in Business Administration and Marketing from Doane University, Crete, NE.
Mr. LeHenaff is the Chief Financial Officer of GS Foods group, Inc. and its subsidiaries Good Source Solutions, Inc. and Gold Star Foods, Inc. He has over 30 years of finance and accounting experience, with over 20 years in the food industry. Prior to joining GS Foods Group, he was the CFO at Prima Wawona, the largest grower and seller of peaches in the United States, based in Fresno CA. Prior to that, he served for over 10 years as Divisional CFO for foodservice manufacturing businesses at Campbell Soup, Advance Pierre Foods, and Tyson, where he led all aspects of planning and analysis to support the leadership of those businesses. He began his career in the Philadelphia area in public accounting before joining Campbell Soup to support the Retail Sales and Marketing organizations.
Mr. LeHenaff holds a B.S. in Accounting from Pennsylvania State University and his MBA from Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business.
Ms. Ewing, RD, SNS is the Chief for Federal & State Food Programs for Gold Star Foods, Inc. Ms. Ewing's successful career in the food industry spans over 25 years, including leadership positions in the restaurant industry, health care, college food service, government, distribution and technology. She is well-respected nationally as a leader in procurement and USDA Foods and has held positions on several national boards created to solve issues associated with the operational constraints of the child nutrition programs.
Ms. Ewing studied at the University of California, Davis and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in clinical nutrition with an emphasis in food service management. She continued her education at Vanderbilt University, completing her postgraduate didactic residency to become a Registered Dietitian and completed her executive education at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Mr. Molnar oversees the sales strategy and management of the Gold Star Foods School Nutrition Sales as well as the Customer Service Teams. Before joining Gold Star Foods, Ryan’s professional background has included several key roles in supporting nutrition services, and in the private foodservice sector as the co-founder of a growing restaurant concept. He has represented large national commodity lines in pizza, poultry, and beef, and most recently as the national sales manager for SunCup Juice. He holds a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership and Bachelor’s degree in Business Management/Organizational Development from the University of Redlands, in Redlands, CA.
Ms. Romero is the Vice President of School Nutrition Customer Solutions for Gold Star Foods, Inc. Ms. Romero’s successful career at Gold Star Foods spans over 28 years, including leadership positions in Customer Service, Sales, Purchasing, and Operations. While her career has spanned nearly all divisions within Gold Star Foods, Customer Service has always been her priority.
Ms. Rosales is the Vice President of Procurement and Logistics for Gold Star Foods, Inc. Ms. Rosales brings over 19 years of foodservice distribution experience with Gold Star Foods. Ms. Rosales has held positions at Gold Star within Customer Service, Procurement, and Sales. During her time with Gold Star Foods, she also attended the California State Los Angeles earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice.
Within the Procurement Department Ms. Rosales has led significant initiatives including the implementation of strategic sourcing, and inbound freight logistics. Ms. Rosales is also the Recall Coordinator and directly responsible for the management of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest school district in the nation.
Mr. Cho joined Gold Star Foods as Director of Procurement in 2017 via acquisition of A&R Foods – a food service company specializing in School Nutrition, College/Universities, along with Business and Industry. In his current role, Mr. Cho leads the strategic vision of product categories as well as the full execution of contractual agreements with both customer and vendor partners. Prior to joining Gold Star Foods, he has held various leadership roles, including General Manager of a wholesale distribution company focusing on Health & Beauty Supplies, Confectionery, Snacks, and Groceries targeting retail and convenience stores.
A California native, Mr. Cho earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration – Finance at California State University, Long Beach.
Mr. Britton is the Vice President of Transformation at GS Foods Group. He has had a successful career in the food industry for more than 18 years working in leadership positions for renowned broadline companies such as US Foods and Sysco. Mr. Britton has been responsible for leading teams and processes associated with the supply, storage, transportation and distribution of equipment, materials, and goods. He has also been recognized for building successful work environments that encompass an inclusive and diverse philosophy and staffing demographic.
He leads his teams with a “One Team One Dream” philosophy where every associate, no matter what role, on any given day, can come together and overcome all obstacles. Mr. Britton applies this viewpoint daily at GS Foods Group and its expansive future planning.