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Builders FirstSource ex-CEO heads to distributor U.S. Foods

Dave Flitman will become CEO of the Rosemont, Ill.-based company that distributes products to 250,000 restaurants and food service operators.

Dave Flitman, who led Dallas-based Builders FirstSource as CEO until last week, is heading to one of the nation’s largest food service distributors as its top executive.

U.S. Foods Holding Corp. said Monday that Flitman will become its CEO on Jan. 5. The Rosemont, Ill.-based company distributes products to 250,000 restaurants and food service operators.

He had led Builders FirstSource, the largest materials supplier to homebuilders in the U.S. with annual revenue of $23 billion, since April 2021 before his departure was announced last week. The company said at the time that he accepted a job outside the industry. His exit came shortly after Builders FirstSource told investors it cut 2,600 jobs nationwide in response to this year’s decline in new home construction.

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For Flitman, it’s a bit of a homecoming.

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From 2015 to 2018, he was president and CEO of Performance Foodservice, the largest segment of Performance Food Group, a rival food service distribution company that acquired Westlake-based Core-Mark Holding Co. for $2.5 billion in 2021. Core-Mark, which moved its headquarters from California to Texas in 2018, supplies tobacco, food and other items to 40,000 convenience, drug, big-box, grocery and liquor stores in the U.S. and Canada.

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His 35-year résumé also includes top management positions at BMC Stock Holdings, Univar, Nalco, Ecolab, Allegheny Power and DuPont. He joined Builders FirstSource after it acquired Raleigh-based competitor BMC, where he was president and CEO.

“Dave is a highly accomplished executive who brings an impressive combination of CEO, supply chain and commercial experience and a proven track record of driving operational excellence, profitable growth, shareholder returns and a people-centric, high-performing culture,” said U.S. Foods executive chairman Bob Dutkowsky in a statement.

Flitman joins U.S. Foods with a lucrative pay package that includes a $3 million cash award, restricted stock worth $10 million that vests over three years and additional shares valued at $6 million based on achieving stock price goals, according to a regulatory filing. That’s in addition to his base salary of $1.3 million and potential bonuses.

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“This is a perfect time to join U.S. Foods,” Flitman said in a statement. “It’s an honor and a privilege to lead U.S. Foods into the future alongside its talented 28,000 associates.”

U.S. Foods’ revenue totaled nearly $29.5 billion in 2021.