Global manufacturer goes internal for next CFO

NEW PORT RICHEY — Welbilt Inc., one of the largest hot and cold foodservice equipment and machine manufacturers in the world, named Haresh Shah senior vice president and CFO.

Shah, 48, who joined New Port Richey-based Welbilt in June 2016 as vice president, corporate controller and chief accounting officer, replaces John Stewart, who is retiring today. The company, formerly named Manitowoc Foodservice, searched internally and externally for CFO candidates, according to a release.

Shah was vice president and corporate controller for Syniverse Technologies from 2012 to June 2016. He's also held financial leadership roles at Amkor Technology Alcatel-Lucent S.A. and was an audit manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers.

“Haresh brings strong financial executive experience with large global companies to his new role,” Welbilt President and CEO Hubertus Muehlhaeuser says in the statement. “Haresh has had several international assignments in the APAC and EMEA regions, bringing valuable local experience in our two key growth regions. He also has worked on multiple international mergers and acquisitions, which is an important part of our strategic growth plan. His background as well as his deep insights into our organization and successful restructuring journey makes him ideally suited for his new role and set him apart from the other candidates we identified in our robust search process.”

Welbilt operates 18 manufacturing facilities throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, and has about 5,500 employees. The company, with about $1.46 billion in sales in 2016, sells its hot and cold foodservice equipment and machines through a global network of more than 3,000 distributors and dealers in 100 countries. Customers include Chick-fil-A, Subway, Starbucks and Wawa.