Submitted by Josh Bean
Buffalo Rock Company has announced that its board of directors voted to approve Matthew Dent as the chief executive officer. He is the first CEO in the company’s 120-year history that is not a member of the Lee family.
Jimmy Lee, III will continue to serve daily as executive chairman of the company and will be involved at a strategic level with Buffalo Rock’s operations. Dent will run and be responsible for the overall day-to-day performance of the company.
“Today’s a very exciting day for the Buffalo Rock family and for the future of our company,” Lee said. “This year we are celebrating the 120-year anniversary of when my family started our company right here in Birmingham, and we have come a long way since that time thanks to our employee-partners. Matthew has shown the necessary skills to lead the company into the future, and I have complete confidence in his leadership. He knows and practices the culture that defines and makes our company a great success.”
Dent first went to work as an intern twenty-five years ago in the Tuscaloosa division of Buffalo Rock while he was a student at the University of Alabama. Since joining the company, he has been involved in all aspects of the business. Dent previously served as president for ten years and has also served as chief operating officer for many years.
“For well over half my life I have worked at Buffalo Rock. The people I work with here are family, and I could not be prouder to lead such a talented, driven and committed group,” Dent said. “I am honored to be named CEO, and I am committed to continue leading with passion and integrity, working every day toward creating circular success for both the company and the individual employee-partners.”
Buffalo Rock has made a number of major announcements in the past several months. In November of 2020, they purchased an estimated 895,000-square-foot warehouse and an approximately 120,000-square-foot office building, both in Birmingham and spanning a combined almost 77 acres. Their plans are to invest $75 million in acquiring, renovating and bringing state of the art technologies to the two facilities, which they hope will create between 25 and 50 new jobs within the initial phase of the project. Additionally, in December of 2020, Buffalo Rock announced that it had purchased and is building a $20 million facility in west Huntsville.
“We are thrilled and extremely supportive of these executive appointments at Buffalo Rock Company, which has been a 70-year partner of PepsiCo,” said Kirk Tanner, CEO, PepsiCo Beverages North America. “Jimmy Lee, III has built a tremendous company and has always brought a growth mindset for the business and developing talent, while constantly looking to invest in the future. Matthew Dent also has been an outstanding leader who has played a critical role in modernizing the Buffalo Rock business while also selflessly giving his time and energy to help grow the broader beverage industry. We couldn’t be more excited for these two leaders and Buffalo Rock and look forward to building on our strategic partnership for the future.”
— Submitted by Josh Bean
