PSSI, a leading North American food safety solution and sanitation provider, has hired Tim Mulhere, a former Ecolab executive, to become the company’s Chief Executive Officer.
Mulhere joins PSSI after spending more than 20 years in various executive leadership positions at Ecolab, a global leader in food safety, hygiene and infection prevention solutions, and water and energy use optimisation.
He most recently served as President of Ecolab’s Global Institutional and Specialty Group, which has more than $4 billion in annual revenue – overseeing a portfolio of Food Hygiene, Total Water Management and Pest Elimination businesses focused on customers in the hospitality, food service, food retail and healthcare sectors.
Mulhere also previously led Ecolab’s multibillion-dollar International Regions and Industrial Water businesses among other roles at the company. He received a BS in Chemistry from Pace University.
Tim Mulhere said: "I am pleased to take on this new position as CEO of PSSI. The company and its devoted employees play a mission-critical role together with its valued customers protecting the health and safety of our nation’s food supply chain. Our focus as a team moving forward will be on continuing to invest in the highest standards possible for safety, compliance, and world-class service."
The company and its devoted employees play a mission-critical role together with its valued customers protecting the health and safety of our nation’s food supply chain
- Tim Mulhere
Mulhere’s appointment will be effective April 24, 2023, when PSSI’s current CEO Dan Taft will retire after 24 years with the company.
Launch of new PSSI charitable fund
PSSI also announced that it is launching a charitable fund with an initial $10 million commitment dedicated to enhancing the well-being of children in the communities it serves and helping reduce the prevalence of the rising problem of unauthorised underage workers amid record levels of unaccompanied minors entering the United States.
This fund will identify and provide aid for direct community services in legal aid, education, poverty reduction, and health services – the lack of access to which contribute to families seeking unauthorised employment for minors – and support national efforts to help address this issue.
PSSI is also committed to sharing the difficult lessons our company has learned and remedial measures we have put in place to help prevent the hiring of unauthorized minor workers. PSSI is dedicated to working with government agencies, outside experts, local communities, and other companies and stakeholders to help combat this problem wholistically – given the wide-ranging nature of this emerging challenge.
PSSI has taken strong corrective action to address a recent settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) regarding minors being hired in certain of our locations – in violation of PSSI’s absolute zero tolerance policy against anyone under the age of 18 working at our company. Building on our existing mandatory policy to use the Federal Government’s own recommended E-Verify system to confirm the employment authorization of all new hires — alongside ongoing audits, trainings, and a $10 million investment in biometric identity verification — we have been taking multiple additional steps since the DOL matter emerged in October 2022.
These include conducting an extensive additional review of our workforce to help ensure that no minors are working for the company today; hiring a respected third-party law firm to examine our procedures and make additional recommendations; retaining one of the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol’s most highly decorated former officers to provide enhanced identity theft training; engaging a former high-ranking DOL official as part of the settlement to conduct monthly unannounced inspections to track compliance; launching a "See Something, Say Something" campaign encouraging local employees to anonymously report any concerns, including age-related concerns, without fear of repercussions; taking action to hire new compliance personnel and further enhance our standard hiring screening processes, among many others.
