John Ulrich joined the Rational USA team as of October 1, 2014 as the vice president, business unit key accounts North America. Ulrich brings with him 18 years of experience within the foodservice industry and he will oversee the National Key Account Directors, Steve Snitkin and Paul Milione.
A graduate of Illinois Wesleyan, Ulrich began working within the foodservice industry and started with Middleby Corporation in 1996, where he focused on marketing communications. After being with Middleby Corporation, he went to work for Prince Castle. It was during this time that Ulrich transitioned from marketing communications to national accounts. He started working with larger brands, such as Burger King and McDonalds. Ulrich then went to Duke Manufacturing in 2008 and became the director of national accounts. At Duke Manufacturing, Ulrich developed and grew the key account business by 400 percent over a six-year period before joining Rational.
“Year after year, Rational leads the way in innovations when it comes to combi technology. In order to continually grow as a company, we need to invest in our sales force to ensure that each business unit is providing maximum customer benefits,” says Markus Glueck, area vice president of North America. “John’s intensive knowledge of the foodservice industry and his elaborate network of relationships makes him an important addition to our key account business unit.”
Ulrich is enthusiastic about the opportunity to work for Rational because there is an abundance of untapped potential in the marketplace for its industry-leading combi technology. “With the help of Milione and Snitkin, we can demonstrate and deliver all of the benefits of Rational’s SelfCookingCenter 5 Senses to multi-unit operators,” Ulrich says. “By providing consistently superior food quality and allowing for menu expansion, while being very simple to operate and clean, many foodservice operations—whether they are quick-service, fast casual, grocery, or a convenience store—will see that Rational’s SelfCookingCenter 5 Senses is an indispensable asset for their business.”