SYSCO Announces Executive Appointments at Its Texas-Based Meat Operations; Ronald G. Boatwright Named President; Andrew L. Malcolm Appointed Chairman.

Business Editors

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 17, 2003

SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY), North America's largest foodservice marketer and distributor, today announced that Ronald G. Boatwright has been named president and that Andrew L. Malcolm as been appointed chairman of the company's four Texas-based Freedman Meats Inc. operations. Both appointments are effective immediately.

Larry J. Accardi, SYSCO's executive vice president of merchandising services and multi-unit sales and president of specialty distribution, said, "SYSCO has established itself as a premier purveyor of specialty meats since we entered the market in 1999. Today, our specialty meat network includes 12 companies across the United States that supply their own customers as well as our broadline companies. Their unique steak aging processes and product knowledge have resulted in SYSCO becoming the nation's leading foodservice supplier of custom-cut steaks, chops and Certified Angus Beef(TM) products. This strong growth has resulted in a need to formalize management structures so all companies can continue operating in an autonomous nature while remaining aligned with our overall goals and objectives."

Mr. Boatwright, 44, began his career in the meat industry in 1984 with Cargill Corporation. He held a variety of sales and marketing positions with that company before joining Freedman Meats in 1989 as general manager of the Dallas division. In 1998 he was named vice president of Freedman Meats and in 2001, after SYSCO acquired the company, he was appointed executive vice president. Mr. Boatwright is also a board member of the National Association of Meat Purveyors and the Texas Restaurant Association's Education Foundation. A native of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Mr. Boatwright attended the University of North Carolina as a Morehead Scholar and earned a bachelor of science degree in American Studies in 1981. He and his wife, Jamie, have two daughters and reside in Colleyville, Texas.

Mr. Accardi noted that Mr. Malcolm will continue serving as president of the company's two Malcolm Meats operations (Northwood, OH and Chicago, IL) and now have responsibility for all of SYSCO's specialty meat companies in the midwestern United States. He joins Howard Halpern and Timothy Hussman, both of whom were named chairmen, respectively, of SYSCO's East and West coast specialty meat operations earlier this year.

Mr. Malcolm, 49, founded Malcolm Meats in 1982 in Northwood, Ohio. Under his tutelage the company's annual sales grew to approximately $27 million when it was acquired by SYSCO in 1999. Malcolm Meats is a Certified Angus Beef(TM) processor and distributor and is also a leading supplier of pork, lamb, veal and poultry products throughout the midwestern portion of the United States. In 2002, SYSCO expanded the market presence of Malcolm Meats when it opened a second facility in Chicago, for which Mr. Malcolm also serves as president. A native of Atlanta, Mr. Malcolm has a grown son and daughter and he currently resides in Perrysburg, Ohio with his wife, Aimee, and their three children.

SYSCO is the largest foodservice marketing and distribution organization in North America, generating sales of $26.1 billion for the fiscal year ended June 28, 2003. The company's 145 distribution locations in the United States and Canada provide food and related products and services to approximately 420,000 restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other foodservice customers. For more information about SYSCO visit the company's Internet home page at www.sysco.com.