Lipari Foods Announces Key Leadership Promotions

WARREN, MICH. – John Pawlowski, President and COO of Lipari Foods has announced several senior leadership promotions within the organization that will go into effect December 27, 2021.

As Lipari Foods continues to grow and expand, we must look towards the future of the business and the organization. The organization has successfully navigated some incredible challenges over the last few years and has built a foundation on which we can continue to thrive. It is with the Lipari Foods spirit of always looking towards the future, always changing for the better, and always being there for each other that I am humbled to announce key promotions that position us for continued success.

–John Pawlowski, President/COO of Lipari Foods

Joyce Saranathan has been appointed to the position of Executive Vice President of Strategy and Growth.

Saranathan joined Lipari Foods in 1985 and since then has been an integral part of leading the company’s exceptional growth in a variety of functions. Outside of her current role as Senior Vice President of Category Management, Marketing, and Procurement, she has also led the overall sales efforts for the company, been a critical part of almost every acquisition and mentored countless company leaders.

In this newly created position, Saranathan will report to Pawlowski and will be responsible for mentoring and coaching new senior leaders in the company, leading the business teams involved in acquisition based activities, and serving as the champion for the overall company strategy.

Nick Lenzi has been promoted from Vice President of Marketing to the newly created position of Senior Vice President of Marketing.

Lenzi joined Lipari Foods at the end of 2020 and has already been instrumental in building a best in class marketing department that supports all of our categories, sales, and manufacturing functions. As Lipari Foods continues to grow, the marketing team will be critical to driving the organizations understanding and leadership around industry trends, building best in class marketing campaigns, and driving food show success.

Jimmy Lipari has been promoted from Vice President – Specialty Grocery Division to the newly created position of Senior Vice President of Category Management.

Jimmy has truly grown up at Lipari Foods, joining the company in 1996. Lipari started working part time in operations, doing everything from stocking inventory to painting in the warehouse. After graduating from Bowling Green State University in 2005 and learning sales outside of Lipari for two years, Jimmy re-joined Lipari full time in 2007. Since then, he has been a sales representative, part of the procurement team and has worked his way up within the category management team in Retail Meat & Seafood, Deli, and Specialty Grocery.

Lipari has proven himself as a category leader both strategically and tactically. In his new role, the entire organization and category management team will benefit from his ability to drive category success, collaborate across categories, innovate, and support change to enable a successful organization.

Julie Nelson has been promoted from Vice President of Procurement to the newly created position of Senior Vice President of Procurement.

Nelson originally joined Lipari Foods in 1987 in the billing department. She left in 1994 after the birth of her twins, but returned in 1997 as an office manager overseeing various billing departments and customer service. She was promoted to Director of Procurement in 2012 and then Vice President in 2019.

Nelson has been an important part of the growth of Lipari Foods and will continue to drive excellence within her team. As Lipari Foods continues to focus on growth, her new role will play an integral part of supply chain management to ensure first class service to Lipari Foods customers.