J&J Distributing, St. Paul Minn., has made some personnel changes.
John Carkoski, who was hired in 2017 as business development and operations director, is now chief operating officer. He will work alongside Stephanie Melstrom, who has been transitioning into the role of president of J&J Distributing, and now fully assumes that role.
Melstrom, the daughter of CEO Jim Hannigan, has been with the family business for more than three decades, and has been instrumental in developing and building the company’s fresh-cut business, according to a news release.
Melstrom and Carkoski will lead the company’s day-to-day operations, and work with Hannigan on creating and implementing the company’s strategic plan, according to the release.
She also will focus on the value-added side of the operation, which has more than 1,000 fresh-cut stock-keeping units.
“With John’s help, Stephanie and I will continue to build the legacy of our family business and take care of our customers as we always have,” Hannigan said in the release.
Hannigan, who stepped away from the business after the death of his wife, Debbie Hannigan, in January 2017, is returning full time to the company. They were married 53 years, and she co-founded J&J Distributing with him in 1978.
Hannigan has returned to the CEO post “with a new vigor, vision and commitment to propel the company forward and prepare it for the next 40 years,” according to the release.
