Victorinox North America has named Audra Murray as Director, Foodservice, giving her responsibility for the Swiss cutlery brand's growth strategy across restaurants, healthcare facilities, hospitality groups, educational institutions, and other large-scale food preparation operations in the U.S. and Canada. Murray reports to Ulrich Wohn, President of Victorinox North America.

The Role

Murray will oversee new account acquisition, strategic customer development, and a team of Business Development Regional Sales Managers. Her mandate centers on expanding operator access to Victorinox's knife rental and sharpening service — a managed-program model that lets commercial kitchen operators hand off blade inventory, sharpening logistics, and replacement cycles to the supplier rather than absorbing those costs internally. The pitch to operators: lower total knife program costs, more predictable cash flow, and measurable improvements in back-of-house safety and efficiency.

Greg Stak continues leading the company's Food Processing and Butcher divisions, keeping that segment's strategic focus intact under the restructured leadership.

Why It Matters for Foodservice Operators

"Audra's extensive Foodservice experience and proven ability to develop strategic customer relationships make her an exceptional addition to our leadership team," Wohn said. "As we continue investing in the Foodservice market, Audra will play a critical role in accelerating account acquisition, expanding our customer partnerships, and executing growth strategies that continue to strengthen Victorinox across the industry."

The hire reflects broader momentum in managed foodservice supply programs, where operators across the convenience-store foodservice and full-service restaurant segments are under pressure to cut labor overhead and tighten operational budgets. Knife management — procurement, sharpening, safe handling, and disposal — is a recurring cost center that often goes unaudited in smaller kitchens. Victorinox's rental-and-sharpening model targets exactly that friction, positioning the company as a logistical partner rather than a one-time equipment vendor.

Victorinox produces more than 90,000 household and professional knives daily and claims its blades test 25% sharper than competing products with 20% better edge retention — metrics the company uses to support lifetime-value arguments with high-volume accounts. Founded in 1884 by Karl Elsener in Ibach-Schwyz, Switzerland, the fourth-generation family business now operates in more than 120 countries.

For c-store foodservice operators building or scaling back-of-house programs — from roller grill and commissary operations to full made-to-order kitchens — vendor-managed knife programs represent one lever for reducing operational drag without capital investment. Murray's appointment signals Victorinox intends to compete more aggressively for those accounts alongside national chain and healthcare contracts.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.