JOH turns 60
Harry O'Hare founded JOH in 1956 in Boston as a food brokerage company, but the company didn't stay put. O'Hare moved it to Brighton, Arlington, and finally into its current headquarters in Billerica, Mass. After 30 years, JOH Sales was formed, launching an period of sustained expansion.
JOH is now a full-service sales and marketing company with 15 offices along the East Coast and Midwest. 2016 marks JOH's 60th year in business, a longevity that can be attributed to its growth throughout the brokerage industry.
The company expanded aggresively in the 1990s and early 2000s, forming the JOH Private Label, JOH Produce, JOH Fresh, and JOH Confection divisions.
Current president and chief operating officer John Saidnawey joined the company as a retail merchandiser in 1982. He rose to the position of executive vice president in 1988 and to president and chief operating officer in 2003.
Still, the O'Hare family has kept close ties with JOH, even after Harry O'Hare retired in 1985. Chip O'Hare, Harry's son, purchased the company from his father in 1988. Chip had already taken over as JOH's president in 1983, and served in that position until the early 2000s when Saidnawey took over.
Harry O'Hare and his son, Chip, in 1988.
Harry's grandson, Matt O'Hare, joined the company in 2011 after graduating from Stanford and is now senior vice president of corporate development.
Charitable giving was a priority for Harry O'Hare, demonstrated by his 1961 co-founding of the Nazareth Food Association, now known as the New England Food Foundation. His successors have proven it is a priority for them as well, with the nonprofit charitable organization Kids 360 being the most recent example.
Kids 360 donates to various children's charities, raising money to provide clothes, food, toys, medical support and school supplies for needy children. In the three years since it was established, Kids 360 has already donated more than $150,000.
To honor and acknowledge the individuals who have helped JOH prosper over the last 60 years, the company created a Hall of Fame award. The winners of this award are Phil Allin, Jerry Carney, Lou Crafts, Thomas Fisher and Al Saporito.
Of course, JOH's leaders strongly emphasized that the entire JOH staff, not only the Hall of Famers, were vital to the success of the brokerage company.
"Associates have worked diligently through the years to help JOH become one of the strongest regional brokers in America," Saidnawey says.
Chip O'Hare added, "During the many years of industry consolidations and nationalization of brokers, JOH emerged stronger through the professionalism and passion of its hard-working associates."
