William J. DeLaney III

William DeLaney graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1977 and received a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1982.[2][3][4]

In 1987, he joined Sysco (NYSE: SYY) as Assistant Treasurer.[2][3][5][6] He became Treasurer in 1991 and served as Vice President from 1993 to 1994.[2][3][5][6] In 1996, he joined the Sysco Food Services of Syracuse, New York as Chief Financial Officer, serving as Senior Vice President in 1998 and Executive Vice President in 2002.[2][3][4][5][6] From 2004 to 2006, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Sysco Food Services of Charlotte, North Carolina.[2][3][4][5][6] From December 2006 to June 30, 2007, he served as Sysco's Senior Vice President of Financial Reporting.[2][3][5][6] From July 1, 2007 to 2009, he served as its Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.[2][3][5][6] He joined its board of directors in January 2009 and became its Chief Executive Officer in March 2009.[2][3][4][5][6] Since February 5, 2010, he has also served as its President.[2][3][5][6]

Since September 2011, he has served on the board of directors of Aristotle Holding and Express Scripts.[3][4][6] He also sits on the board of directors of the Center for Houston's Future founded by the Greater Houston Partnership.[6][7] Since September 2018 he has served on the board of directors of Union Pacific.[8]

In 2011 he earned US$5,725,501.[2] As of 2013, he owns 336,748 shares of Sysco. He has often stated that his greatest friend and most trusted adviser was a delivery driver for Sysco Coleman J Wesson of Sumrall, Mississippi. Delaney approached Wesson several times over the years for both business and personal advice.[2]