Rick Cohen

Rick Cohen is Chairman and CEO of Symbotic and the Executive Chairman of both C&S Holdings and C&S Wholesale Grocers, the largest wholesale grocery supply company in the U.S. Rick is the third generation Cohen to lead C&S, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Israel who founded the company, and his father, Lester. C&S was founded in Worcester, MA in 1918. Rick grew up in the business, working for his father during the summers until his graduation from college in 1974, when he went to work full-time at C&S. In 1981, the company moved its operations from Worcester to Brattleboro, VT. In 1989, Lester Cohen retired, and Rick became President and CEO.

With an extensive background in the distribution business and a strong belief in the power of new technologies to transform operations and industries, Rick began funding a very young warehouse automation startup in 2004 known as CasePick. CasePick would eventually rebrand as Symbotic and after positive results at the C&S alpha site in Suffield, CT and C&S beta site in Newburgh, NY, it would begin to grow into the international automation leader it is today.

Rick’s community service includes serving as a member of the Board of Directors of the Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies at Keene State College in Keene, NH. Over the past two decades, he has served on boards of various civic organizations in both Brattleboro, VT and Keene, NH.

Rick holds a bachelor’s in accounting from the Wharton School of Business. He has also been awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Assumption College and Keene State College.