Melinda “Mindy” Rich has been tapped to chair the family-owned Rich Holdings, Inc. The Buffalo, N.Y.-based parent company of Rich Products Corp. has been led for the past 16 years by Robert E. Rich, Jr., who is moving into a senior chairman position.
As she steps into the chairman role vacated by her husband, Mindy will leverage her extensive experience at Rich Holdings, including her jobs as vice chairman, EVP, board members and EVP of innovation. She first joined the company in 1985 and spearheaded several business efforts, from product development to the establishment of best practices and processes. She has also created work/life programs at the organization and served in volunteer and leadership roles outside Rich Products, including stints as a board member for M&T Bank Corp., the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Rock & Roll, Inc./Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and business from the University of Colorado and received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters Degree from The Culinary Institute of America and an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from D’Youville College.
“This decision was made after years of very deliberate and careful planning,” Mindy said. “Intentional succession planning is a crucial part of fostering a robust leadership pipeline – especially in a family-led company like ours. We expect and demand that our senior leaders actively participate in this kind of forethought, and we hold ourselves accountable to the same expectations as stewards of Rich Products and our family of businesses.”