Zep Inc. Restructures into 8 Businesses

Zep Inc. recently restructured the company, creating eight customer-focused “value stream” organizations. The new structure includes six regional businesses, along with retail and industrial distribution organizations. The changes are designed to enable each separate Zep business to be more nimble and authoritative in dealing with customers, company officials said.

William A. “Bill” Holl, previously executive vice president and chief commercial officer, was named chief operating officer with responsibility for the eight businesses.

“Backed by shared, corporate services, each of these businesses will be closer to our customers and will have more decision-making authority to meet customer needs,” noted Holl. “We are convinced that this new operating structure will enable Zep Inc. to recapture our market position and build for the future.”

“Individuals leading each business or ‘value stream’ will run them with entrepreneurial vigor to help drive performance more assertively by making decisions and deploying resources as close as possible to our customers,” added John K. Morgan, Zep Inc. president and chief executive officer.

According to the company, the new business structure is as follows:

Zep West will cover western Canada and several western U.S. states. Ralph Puertas, formerly president of Zep Canada, was named president of Zep West.

Zep Central will cover many southwestern states and some Central Plains states. Robert L. Droke II was hired as president of Zep Central. Droke was most recently a vice president at Banner Commercial, a real estate advisory and consulting firm.

Zep Southeast will include many southeastern states. Joe Dymecki, previously vice president of Zep’s Southeast division, was named president.

Zep Midwest will cover the upper Midwest. Tom Moffett, previously vice president and general manager for Zep and Selig, was named president.

Zep East will cover several eastern states and the Canadian provinces east of Manitoba. Tom Moffett also will oversee Zep East until a new president is appointed.

Zep Europe will include all of the company’s European business. Alessandro Brighenti, previously a Zep general manager in Italy, was appointed president.

Zep Retail will include all of Zep Inc.’s business with retailers. Lisa B. Malloy was hired as president of Zep Retail. Malloy was senior global product merchant with The Home Depot’s retail carpet and installation supplies business.

Zep Industrial Distribution will develop and manage the company’s business through industrial distributors. Philip Snellen, formerly head of the company’s core marketing team, was named vice president of Zep Industrial Distribution.