Alto-Shaam is excited to announce the hire of several new employees on the sales, marketing and culinary teams. For sales, Lucy McQuillan was hired as the Executive Vice President of Global Sales, Gabriel Estrella Talentti was hired as the Sales Director of Middle East and Africa and Joe Prowell was hired as a Business Development Specialist. In marketing Jody Rahoy was hired as the Marketing Manager and for the culinary team Richard “Rocky” Rockwell was hired as a Corporate Chef.
“The combination of experience and leadership these individuals bring to Alto-Shaam upholds our standard of excellence,” said Steve Maahs, President and Chief Operating Officer of Alto-Shaam. “Adding leaders, such as our new additions, to the Alto-Shaam team will keep our company at the forefront of the industry and continue our success. We look forward to their accomplishments and contributions.”
McQuillan will oversee the domestic and international sales team and will be responsible for the support and execution of the commercial strategy for Alto-Shaam. As an active leader in the corporate strategic planning process, she will develop, prioritize and execute the corporate sales growth strategies in order to achieve company sales objectives. She has more than 25 years of experience holding various sales, product management and marketing roles with IMI plc & Cornelius, a supplier of beverage dispensing equipment. There she developed commercial excellence programs across five divisions, including process and people improvement programs with the global sales team.
Talentti will be responsible for Alto-Shaam’s sales growth and development through independent dealers, distributors, direct customers and foodservice consultants. He will lead the new Alto-Shaam office based in Dubai. Talentti has previous experience in the foodservice equipment industry, working to manage business relationships with existing and potential distributors in five Middle Eastern countries.
Prowell will assist in demand creation alongside his counterpart on the East Coast and offer sales support to dealers within his region. Prowell most recently served in the U.S. Navy as an aviation lieutenant where he negotiated with Mediterranean Sea nations to develop programs to prevent drug, weapon and human trafficking.
Rahoy will actively lead the company’s demand creation efforts through marketing, advertising, web development, communications and public relations. Her experience draws from her position as a marketing communications project manager where she managed integrated marketing communications for a team of product marketing managers and brand positioning efforts for Case IH, Case Construction, New Holland Agricultural and New Holland Construction.
Rockwell spent time with the Alto-Shaam culinary team at the 2015 National Restaurant Association Show and will now support the culinary seminars at Alto-Shaam’s Culinary Institute.  He will also contribute to menu development and provide ongoing customer education.  Rockwell, a certified executive chef from the American Culinary Federation, has more than 20 years of foodservice experience working in hotel, country club and college university industries. He most recently worked at Texas A&M as an executive chef and director of dining where he served meals to more than 2,600 ROTC cadets in ten minutes using Alto-Shaam’s plate retherm system.
Celebrating 60 Years of Foodservice Innovation
Alto-Shaam has pioneered innovative foodservice for 60 years. The company was incorporated on Jan. 26, 1955, and has led the industry in providing quality commercial cooking solutions. Key innovations include the invention of Halo Heat® technology to hold hot food. Halo Heat eventually led to the creation of the Cook & Hold oven, a revolutionary cooking method that created better quality food and reduced labor. Alto-Shaam also introduced combination convection-steamer ovens in the U.S. Alto-Shaam continues to innovate in the foodservice industry by continuously improving products to meet customer needs and increase customers’ return on investment.
About Alto-Shaam, Inc.
Alto-Shaam’s corporate headquarters, worldwide manufacturing facility, Culinary Institute and Technical Institute are based in Menomonee Falls, Wis. For more than a half a century, Alto-Shaam has been a recognized leader and innovator in the global commercial foodservice equipment industry. With a core business in primary cooking equipment, Alto-Shaam offers an expanded product portfolio that includes award-winning Combitherm® ovens, Xcelerate® Hi-Speed oven, Halo-Heat® cook & hold ovens, smoker ovens, heated holding technologies, heated display and merchandising solutions, QuickChiller™ rapid chill units, FryTech™ high-efficiency fryers, rotisserie ovens, convection ovens, and drop-in heated and refrigerated fixture components. Alto-Shaam is also the industry leader in providing integrated food production systems for cook/chill, banqueting and rethermalization applications.