Rick Cohen
Executive chairman of C&S Wholesale Grocers and chairman and CEO of Symbotic
Chances are Rick Cohen has influenced how you get products in your daily life, whether it’s your groceries or your Walmart order. Cohen is executive chairman and former CEO of C&S Wholesale Grocers in Keene, the largest grocery wholesaler in the United States. It generates $33 in annual revenue, according to Forbes.
Cohen is the third generation of his family to lead the company. However, the bulk of the Cohen family fortune (Forbes estimates the family have a net worth of $24.6 billion), comes from Symbotic, a warehouse automation firm in Massachusetts, which automates 42 regional distribution centers for Walmart.
Cohen is chairman and CEO of Symbotic, which went public in June 2022 and, according to Forbes, has a backlog of orders totaling $23 billion. Symbotic reported FY 2023 revenue of $1.177 billion, growing 98% year over year.
“This has been a year of tremendous growth and progress for Symbotic. Our financial performance is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our talented team,” Cohen stated in a recent press release. Symbotic expects revenue of $350 million to $370 million in Q1 2024.
Cohen, who rarely grants interviews (and declined to be interviewed for this story), was listed as the wealthiest person in NH by Forbes. Cohen earned an accounting degree from The Wharton School. He serves on the board of directors of the Cohen Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State College.
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