Kevin Clark, Chief Executive Officer of Welbilt, announced a series of new promotions for the equipment and solutions company.
Nick Patterson has been named President of Merco & KitchenConnect, Welbilt brands, effective August 29th. In this role, he will be responsible for the day-to-day management of Merco and Welbilt KitchenConnect. Patterson is a Purdue University Mechanical Engineering graduate who started his career at Whirlpool Corporation. He joined the Welbilt research and development team in 2010. Patterson spent a year abroad in Eglfing, Germany, leading the Convotherm 4 oven program launch. After returning to the U.S., he became Vice President of Engineering for Welbilt, leading the technology and new product development teams for all hot side engineering groups. Most recently in 2016, Patterson was promoted to Vice President and Managing Director of Merco to revitalize the long-standing legacy brand.
Tom Kurgan has been named General Manager for Lincoln, a Welbilt brand, effective August 29th. In this role, he will be responsible for leading all United States sales, service and support activities for Lincoln. Kurgan began his foodservice industry career in 1988 with Lincoln Foodservice Products. He has held various sales and marketing positions for Enodis, Manitowoc Foodservice and Welbilt Brands. Kurgan most recently served as Area Vice President for Welbilt, covering the Midwest and Northeast regions.
Graham Sams has been named President of Garland and Lincoln, both Welbilt brands, effective August 29th. In this role, Sams will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the Garland and Lincoln companies. Sams joined Welbilt in 2011 as Production Manager of the Garland manufacturing facility, where he focused on continuously improving manufacturing processes. After increasing roles of responsibility in manufacturing, he was promoted to Managing Director of Lincoln in 2017, where he successfully led a refocus on the brand and launched key product improvements. In 2020, Sams was named Managing Director of Cleveland, where he successfully oversaw a program of customer-focused brand improvement.
Stan Ioffe has been named President of Cleveland, a Welbilt brand, effective August 29th. Ioffe will assume the day-to-day management of the Cleveland brand. This position was previously held by Graham Sams, President of Garland and Lincoln. Ioffe spent nine years in the consumer packaged goods industry, holding various roles at General Mills and Canada Bread, a Grupo Bimbo company. He joined Welbilt in 2020 as Head of Finance for the Canadian division, supporting the Garland, Lincoln and Cleveland manufacturing facilities as well as the American ovens and Canadian distribution businesses. In this role, Ioffe provided financial guidance to the brand leaders, supported various product rollouts, managed inflationary pressures, and drove profitable customer growth across Welbilt’s portfolio of oven products.
