Univar appoints John R. Donovan as Chief Growth Officer
27 December 2011
Redmond, Wash. – December 27, 2011 – Univar Inc., a leading global chemical distributor, announced today that John R. (Jack) Donovan joined the company as executive vice president and chief growth officer. Donovan reports to John Zillmer, Univar president and chief executive officer, and is responsible for strategic growth and development of the company’s global business relationships.
Donovan has spent much of his career in executive leadership roles heading sales, marketing and general management teams. Most recently, he served as President of Omakase LLC, a growth-strategy consulting firm that he founded. Univar has worked closely with Omakase since 2010 to further enhance its sales force effectiveness and training programs.
“Jack’s experience across multiple functions combined with a proven track record of delivering results, makes him uniquely qualified to grow Univar’s position as a global industry leader," said Univar President and Chief Executive Officer John Zillmer. "He has an impressive history of leading teams that accelerate sales growth, increase profitability and create customer loyalty. I’m thrilled to have him on the executive team.”
Prior to the founding of Omakase, Donovan held various executive roles in business development and general management at ARAMARK and contributed to the company’s unprecedented growth. Before ARAMARK, he worked for both Morrison’s and Servomation.
Donovan earned his bachelor’s degree from Duke University and holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Mitchell College of Business at the University of South Alabama.