BIRMINGHAM, AL, U.S. — Royal Cup Coffee & Tea (Royal Cup) today announced that Howard Chapman, president of its Office Beverage Division, will retire from full-time employment effective Jan. 1, 2019. He will remain with Royal Cup in a strategic advisory role to assist its sales team until the end of 2019.
During his 26-year tenure, Chapman has been integral in the growth of Royal Cup – particularly with respect to its Office Beverage Division. He has been in his current role since Nov, 2015, and prior to that, served for 14 years as vice president & division manager.
For the first 15 years of his career, Chapman was the director of administrative services at Alston & Bird, an Atlanta-based law firm.
“Howard’s servant leadership, entrepreneurial mindset and incredible passion for the industry has been a driving force behind the success of our Office Beverage Division and for key customer programs such as The Royal Connection,” said Bill Smith, CEO at Royal Cup.
“Howard’s commitment to achieving excellence, developing talented people, serving our customers and giving back to our communities has been an inspiration to the entire organization. We wish Howard all the best in his well-deserved retirement. ”
Chapman joined Royal Cup in 1992 as a district manager of the Georgia Office Coffee Region. He then led an extraordinary national expansion for Royal Cup’s Office Coffee Division into Florida, Texas, Arizona, Colorado and the Midwest.
“It has been a privilege to work for so many years at a company that places such a high value on the customer and employee experiences,” said Chapman.
“I am proud of my contributions, but far prouder of our sales team and the positive impact we have made together. While I am happy to be able to stay on through the end of 2019 in a strategic advisory role, I have no doubt that our highly talented sales team will continue the strong growth that the Office Beverage Division has experienced over the past several years.”
Throughout his distinguished career, Chapman has received various awards, including but not limited to Office Coffee Operator of the Year by the National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA), OCS Operator of the Year by the Automatic Merchandiser Magazine, Outstanding Associate of the Year by the International Facilities Management Association, Atlanta Chapter.
“I specifically want to thank the Smith family for the opportunities they have provided me over my career with Royal Cup – I am quite fortunate to have worked so closely with strong mentors, effective leaders and all-around great people,” added Chapman.
Chapman is the chairman emeritus of the Board of NAMA. He also previously served as chairman of the NAMA Coffee Service Committee and co-chair of the NAMA Positioning for Growth Capital Campaign.
“I will look back over my career and our collective successes fondly, but my greatest accomplishments and what I am most grateful to take into retirement with me are the wonderful relationships I’ve built with the Royal Cup team, our customers and industry colleagues,” said Chapman. “I am excited for the next chapter, and for the opportunity to spend more time with my family, my friends, my community and my hobbies.”
