• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics

3

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics

3

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
RetailC-Suite

The Boar’s Head deli company is so secretive that a top executive didn’t know the name of the CEO

Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
By
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
Reporter
Down Arrow Button Icon
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
By
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
Reporter
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 14, 2024, 3:31 PM ET
Boar's Head meats are displayed at a supermarket
Boar’s Head’s Virginia meat processing plant was linked to a listeria outbreak.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images

The top brass of a well-known deli-meat company is so secretive that its chief financial officer didn’t know who its CEO was as recently as two years ago. 

Recommended Video

Boar’s Head deli products are found in supermarkets across the U.S., and the company employs thousands of people. But the leadership of this family-owned company is anything but traditional, the New York Times reported.

According to a deposition from 2022, when asked who the CEO of the company was, CFO Steve Kourelakos, a two-decade Boar’s Head veteran, answered, “I’m not sure.” 

The response is curious for a top executive at a company that brings in an estimated $3 billion in yearly revenue, the Times reported, based on interviews with employees and others. And many more details about the company would have remained secret were it not for several lawsuits brought by Eric Bischoff against his relatives and the company over the allocation of corporate shares. The public information from those lawsuits, including several depositions from 2022, offer one of the only windows into the everyday operations of the company.

Boar’s Head declined to answer questions from the Times and didn’t immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.

Despite its substantial size, secrecy is apparently the norm at the privately held Boar’s Head, which is run in general obscurity by two families with ties dating back nearly 100 years: the Brunckhorsts and the Bischoffs.

In the early 20th century, the company’s founder, the original Frank Brunckhorst, began selling deli meats out of a horse-drawn carriage in Brooklyn. A couple of decades later he teamed up with his brother-in-law Bruno Bischoff and another business partner to buy a real estate business and build a meat processing plant in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood, marking the official birth of Boar’s Head.

Fast-forward to the 21st century and you find a brand that is a mainstay in supermarkets across the country. But a deadly listeria outbreak linked to its Virginia plant earlier this year has damaged its reputation for quality and dragged the company into the public spotlight.

For such a high-profile company, the Times reported that many of the decisions are made above the head of the company’s president, Carlos Giraldo, who replaced longtime president Michael Martella after he retired in 2021.

Behind the scenes, three owners who are also descendants of the company’s 20th-century pioneers are actually pulling the strings. That cohort includes 74-year-old Robert S. Martin, known as Bob, who is a grandson of one of the founders and is named as co-chief executive in court documents; another is Martin’s 50-year-old son, Robert A. Martin, known as Bob Junior; and their 61-year-old cousin Frank Brunckhorst III.

“From morning until night, we’re thinking about Boar’s Head, how to do it. We’re constantly in contact with each other,” Brunckhorst said of himself and the other two decision-makers in a 2022 deposition. “It’s our identities. It’s our life. That’s what we do.”

Yet little can be found online about any of the company’s leaders, and financial and sales information is closely guarded even from its senior employees.

When it came to making decisions, not even the company’s former president could act without approval, he said in a 2022 deposition.

“Frank [Brunckhorst] and Bob [Martin] were always directing the course of the company as far as what we should do and what we shouldn’t do,” he said. “I suggested it. They approved it.”

The Fortune 500 Innovation Forum will convene Fortune 500 executives, U.S. policy officials, top founders, and thought leaders to help define what’s next for the American economy, Nov. 16-17 in Detroit. Apply here.
About the Author
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezReporter
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Role: Reporter
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez is a reporter for Fortune covering general business news.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Retail

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Retail

target
Retailearnings
Target posts biggest jump in comparable sales in 4 years as turnaround takes shape
By Anne D'Innocenzio and The Associated PressMay 20, 2026
9 hours ago
Variational co-founders Edward Yu and Lucas Schuermann pose for a picture
CryptoCryptocurrency
Variational raises $50 million Series A to bring liquidity from traditional markets to blockchain rails
By Jack KubinecMay 20, 2026
12 hours ago
A Pizza Hut workers prepares an order for delivery.
LawFood and drink
Pizza Hut franchisee claims $100 million losses from ‘cascading operational breakdowns’ in AI adoption gone wrong
By Sasha RogelbergMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
Photo of Donald Trump (left) with Mark Cuban
PoliticsDonald Trump
Trump and Mark Cuban end war of words to tag-team America’s drug pricing crisis: ‘Democrats want cheaper medications, too’
By Catherina GioinoMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
‘This is what the consumer wants’: A new lawsuit about PFAS and other ‘forever chemicals’ is heating up the cookware industry
Big TechLawsuit
‘This is what the consumer wants’: A new lawsuit about PFAS and other ‘forever chemicals’ is heating up the cookware industry
By Catherina GioinoMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
andic
LawBillionaires
Spanish police arrest son of retail billionaire who fell off a cliff and died. He was the only witness
By The Associated PressMay 19, 2026
2 days ago

Most Popular

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
Future of Work
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
By Mike Householder and The Associated PressMay 17, 2026
3 days ago
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
8 days ago
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
Success
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
By Preston ForeMay 20, 2026
10 hours ago
Spirit Airlines apologizes to all the Americans who can't afford any summer vacation flights as it shuts down
Travel & Leisure
Spirit Airlines apologizes to all the Americans who can't afford any summer vacation flights as it shuts down
By Rio Yamat and The Associated PressMay 18, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 19, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.