Can you give us a brief background on your career and journey into a leadership position at your company?
Alex: My career journey started in the family business from as early as I can remember. I like to joke that my fi rst customer delivery was at six months into my mom’s pregnancy! Growing up, I’d spend time at work in an actual 44-gallon Cambro container, which kept me safely contained while my parents were busy. Customers even held me while waiting for quotes. Starting from fourth grade, I worked summers across various entry-level roles. By college, I was balancing classes in the evenings with full-time work, committed to mastering every role I held. Whether cashiering or operations, I wanted to be the best in each role, learning every layer of the business from the ground up. Over time, I shifted to working on the business — hiring, developing sales and operations teams, implementing processes, and modernizing our systems. That gradual evolution into leadership felt natural, building on the foundation I’d been fortunate enough to gain early on.
Meghan: Upon graduating from college, I joined a direct response marketing agency where I was responsible for developing plans and campaigns to enable our nonprofi t and association clients to hit their fundraising goals. After a few years at the agency, I returned to school to earn my MBA with the intention of propelling myself into a corporate setting. I joined a pork manufacturer in 2011 and worked as a category manager responsible for the product mix, pricing and packaging of the retail and foodservice SKUs (stock-keeping units) in my categories. I then spent a couple of years at Dansko Footwear where I developed occupational marketing programs targeting chefs, teachers and healthcare professionals to drive awareness and purchase of the brand. In 2014, I joined Vulcan in Charlotte, North Carolina. I was initially tasked with marketing, new product development and sales enablement for fryers, griddles and charbroilers. Over the
ALEX LU PRESIDENT RESTAURANT
EQUIPMENT MARKET
MEGHAN HURST VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER VULCAN
past 10 years, my product and people responsibilities have grown. In 2022, I became vice president of sales and marketing, with oversight of customer service, business development and marketing. On Jan. 1, 2024, I became vice president and general manager of Vulcan, meaning I have full profi t and loss responsibility and am charged with leading the team in pursuit of our goals.
What role have mentors played in your leadership development? What’s one invaluable insight or realization you gained from a mentor and how did it shape your leadership style?
Alex: Mentors have been incredibly grounding, like a breath of fresh air, especially when I’ve felt overwhelmed or uninspired. The guidance from industry mentors — whether through buying groups, FEDA or relationships I’ve built along the way — has shaped so much of my perspective. One powerful insight a mentor
shared was about the importance of people over ideas. Early on, I was drawn to the excitement of fast-paced innovation, assuming the strength of an idea would carry a business. But the truth is, no matter the idea, having the right people is what creates real impact. I’ve come to embrace the saying: “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” That wisdom has infl uenced my approach to leadership — balancing a fi rm hand with compassion to build and empower a team. Meghan: Mentors have played an important role for me during my career, most notably as a source of feedback and guidance and as a means to make
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