Mike Siegel’s 47+ Year Journey from Marlinn Apprentice to EVP of TriMark North

In his youth, Mike Siegel began working at his family's foodservice business, Marlinn, helping in the office and warehouse. He joined full-time in 1976, one day after graduating with a BA in Marketing.

"When you're in a family business, you do everything. I'd sell three days a week, purchasing two days a week, along with operations. You do everything because it's a small company."

Mike switched to a sales role after working in customer service in 1978. Shortly after, Marlinn acquired Tri-Bee Supply's foodservice business. TriMark acquired Marlinn in 1998. Mike became President of TriMark Marlinn in 2001 and held the position until July 2023, when he was appointed Executive Vice President (EVP) of TriMark's North Region.

Vision for the North Region:

"Much of what I do is behind the scenes, strategizing budgets, growth, etc. It's important to me that I mentor other leaders to grow in their roles as well, giving tips on how to avoid the mistakes I made, allowing them to be the face of their team, and ensuring they are learning and progressing. I'm here to help support the North's initiatives and drive the path to increased profits."

Mike has a great vision for the North and will continue the leadership cadence left behind by others like Tom Wienclaw, previously EVP of the North and now TriMark's CEO. Mike's focus is on building out distribution throughout all divisions and using the current foundation to make all divisions well-rounded. Adams Burch is expanding its equipment presence, Marlinn is growing its contract, chain, and design/build segment, and Hockenbergs is building its territory sales in the KC and Denver markets. SS Kemp will continue to expand in the Columbus, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati markets. 

Mike as EVP

With forty-seven years of leadership at Marlinn, Mike understands his team's needs and maintains excellent credibility for achieving success in multiple areas.

"The number one quality every leader should have is high integrity and confidence within your team. You won't ask them to do anything you wouldn't do. Be consistent."

In his ongoing pursuit of professional development, Mike is working on cultivating emotional intelligence skills and the qualities and policies needed to help budding leaders thrive.

Leadership in the Foodservice Industry:

Mike was raised with a strong work ethic and a drive to succeed. He believes knowledge is power, and it takes persistence to grow in a sales-driven organization.

"My time at Marlinn is a growth success story. We were a $27M business in 1998 and dynamically grew to $145M in 2019. We navigated the team through the COVID-19 pandemic and took on Minnesota markets, growing their segments to $245M. We were very profitable along the way."

Mike continues working out of his Chicago home, fishing in Canada, exercising, watching sports and old movies, and spending time with his granddaughters.