Daphne Dufresne

Chair of the board

Daphne Dufresne is Whitsons’ Chair of the Board and Managing Partner of GenNx360. She was previously a Founding Partner of Equity Partners and has extensive experience in the food industry, currently serving on the Board of Directors of UNFI. She previously led the acquisition of and successful sale of Fleischmann’s Vinegar, where she was Chair of the Board of Directors. As Chair for Whitsons, Daphne is poised to provide direction and leadership to the board of directors.

Lloyd Trotter

Board member

Lloyd Trotter, Board Member, has had an illustrious career as co-Founder of GenX360 and as Vice Chairman for General Electric, from where he retired after having started his career as a field service engineer 40 years earlier. While at General Electric, Lloyd was also the founding member of GE’s African American forum. In 2005, Black Enterprise Magazine named Lloyd one of the 75 Most Powerful African Americans in corporate America. He brings a wealth of large-scale business experience to help guide Whitsons’ future direction.

Rishi Verma

Board member

Rishi Verma has extensive investment experience. He also worked with Genpact in various roles in analytics and transition management, where he was awarded the prestigious Platinum Award for his role in setting up the analytics back-office operations for a leading global investment bank. Rishi’s background provides direction for our analytical processes.

Paul Whitcomb

Board Member, President & CEO of Whitsons Culinary Group

Paul has been part of the food industry since childhood. Having grown up in the family business, he brings over 30 years of experience to his role as President & CEO. Throughout his career, he has taken on various leadership positions within the company, consistently offering fresh insights and innovative strategies that have been key to Whitsons’ success. Paul guides the company’s operations across all divisions, driving growth through expanding services, enhancing quality, improving operational efficiency, and identifying new market opportunities. Paul is passionate about food and enjoys spending time outdoors with family and friends. But above all, the accomplishment of which Paul is most proud is being a proud husband and father of four boys.

Beth Bunster

Chief financial officer

As CFO, Beth is responsible for developing and implementing the company’s long-range financial strategy, including securing financing for future growth. She is also the executive who oversees Human Resources, Recruiting, Information Technology and Accounting. Beth’s expertise has been in making Whitsons an efficient, innovative management operation. She created a continuous improvement process for our corporate systems by identifying and implementing new enterprise systems for accounting and manufacturing. She has streamlined many accounting and HR processes, and we have seen an increase in productivity of over 100%. Beth has played an active role in Whitsons’ growth and evolution from a local restaurant to a complete food service resource employing over 3000 team members and serving diverse industrial, educational, and municipal organizations throughout the region. Beth received her BBA in accounting from Hofstra University and took courses at SUNY Stony Brook University. Her professional affiliations include Society for Foodservice Management, Long Island Center for Business and Professional Women and the CFO Roundtable.

Kellyann Friend

Chief Operating officer – Contract Management

Kellyann brings over 36 years of experience with Whitsons and has played a crucial role in the organization’s development. She is well known for her commitment to excellence and her flair for creating unique strategic solutions. Recognized as a key leader in the industry, Kelly has served on the Board of Directors for the Society for Hospitality and Foodservice Management and is an active member of the School Nutrition Association. She is also a Certified Dietary Manager and Food Management Professional. Kelly brings a vast wealth of knowledge across all business segments, as she has held various leadership positions throughout the Whitsons organization.

Paul Burnup

Chief Operating officer – Prepared Meals

Paul joined Whitsons with more than 25 years of experience in the food industry. As Chief Operating Officer of Whitsons’ Prepared Meals division, Paul provides leadership and direction for this business segment. He is responsible for supervising our culinary center operations, where he works with our team to ensure the qualitative and financial success of our program. He also manages and oversees our culinary depots and works with the culinary and sales teams to develop new products for our customers and new business opportunities for the Prepared Meal Division. Paul also oversees Emergency Nutrition Services.

Vincent “Ozzie” Orsillo

Senior Vice President of Growth & Strategy

With over 30 years dedicated to school nutrition services, Ozzie Orsillo has worked with hundreds of school districts in the Northeast region, helping them meet their school dining program objectives. He is well known in the industry for his customer-focused approach, integrity, and professionalism. A lifelong New Englander, Ozzie brings more than 45 years of contract foodservice sales and operational experience to the company. Ozzie has been part of Whitsons’ team since 2007, introducing our school nutrition services into the Massachusetts and New Hampshire markets, and expanding our account base in Connecticut.

Gregory Robbins

Senior Vice President & General Counsel

As Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Gregory Robbins brings with him with more than 30 years of law firm and in-house corporate law experience to Whitsons. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Hofstra University and a Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law and is admitted to practice law in New York and Connecticut. Greg supports all of Whitsons’ lines of business directly from the corporate office.

Michael Marinaro

Vice President of Supply Chain & Technology

As Whitsons’ Vice President of Supply Chain and Technology, Michael is responsible for overseeing and administering all aspects of the company purchasing programs, including researching new suppliers and manufacturers, facilitating strategic relationships, researching, and testing new products and ingredients, monitoring vendor issues and coordinating with the marketing department on promotional programs. He has made great strides in building vendor relationships and procuring quality products in line with our nutritional focus and green initiatives. He is also responsible for the company’s overall technology strategy, including infrastructure, communication systems and Whitsons’ proprietary Culinary Suite, intranet and ERP/MRP systems. Michael holds a degree from Hofstra University.