Sysco Names Tom Bene as President, COO

Sysco said Tuesday that Tom Bené will be promoted to president and chief operating officer, effective Friday.

Mr. Bené will oversee all of Sysco's business operations and manage the food-and-supply distributor's supply chain organization. The promotion could put him in line as a possible successor to Chief Executive Bill DeLaney.

Mr. Bené joined Sysco in 2013 as chief merchandising officer before being named chief commercial officer later that year. He became president of food service operations in January. Previously, Mr. Bené spent 23 years in various positions at PepsiCo.

Mr. DeLaney, who was 59 years old as of the company's October proxy filing, said the move would strengthen the partnership between the company's supply chain organization and business operations and commercial functions. Mr. Delaney, who has been CEO since 2009 and president since 2010, has been steering the company in a new direction since the bid to acquire rival US Foods failed because of regulatory hurdles.

"Expanding Tom's role will provide me with additional capacity to lead the execution of our recently announced three-year strategic plan, work closely with our board of directors on long-term strategic opportunities, and further engage with Sysco's key stakeholders," he said in a statement Tuesday.

Shares of Sysco, which have risen 4.6% this year, were inactive premarket.

Write to Anne Steele at Anne.Steele@wsj.com