The power
of good
MANAGEMENT
here's no substitute for a good atti-
tude and business acumen. It can
make or break a company, even
a large, second generation vending
operation. For nearly 14 years Jeff
Whitacre has been leading Food
Express, a 30-route, independent
vending operation in Greensboro,
N.C. When asked about his job,
Whitacre doesn't talk about cutting
costs or pending legislation. Instead
he is optimistic, with an ability to
pull together different team members
and utilize everyone's strengths.
Fresh food was always cen-
tral to the company's service and
Whitacre continues that tradition
today with fresh food accounting
for a signifcant amount of the com-
pany's revenues. He also invests
in various technological advances
that help him run the business
more effciently and with a bet-
ter bottom line. However, the real
key to success in Whitacre's mind
is working more on his company,
than in it. "My role is to provide
the vision, leadership, protection
and individual advancement of my
team," said Whitacre.
Vending as a summer job
When Whitacre was 15, he started
working summers at Servomation
Corp., a national vending and food
service company based in New
York. His father, Bill Whitacre, also
worked at the company as a division
president. After 22 years at Servo-
mation, Bill Whitacre and his wife,
Nadine, decided to launch their
own vending and foodservice com-
pany. They called it Food Express
and ran it out of their Greensboro,
N.C. basement.
Jeff Whitacre joined the fam-
ily business full-time in 1990 after
graduating from Appalachian State
University in Boone, N.C. He started
in key account sales moving swiftly
T
Jeff Whitacre,
president and
CEO of Food
Express in
Greensboro, N.C.,
is as optimistic
about the industry
today as he was
at 15.
Food Express, an independent vendor in
Greensboro, N.C., prekits its 30 routes.
By Emily Refermat, Editor
Jeff Whitacre leads one of the largest independent
foodservice companies in the country, Food Express
in Greensboro, N.C., by focusing on fresh food,
utilizing technology and most importantly,
providing vision and connections.
Profle: Food Express
Owner: Jeff Whitacre
Headquarters: Greensboro, N.C.
Number of routes: 30 Vending,
3 Micro Market, 2 OCS
Software provider: Streamware
Annual Sales: $25 million
18 Automatic Merchandiser VendingMarketWatch.com April 2014
S U C C E S S S T O R Y
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