BALTIMORE (AP) - Mark Sneed, president of Phillips Foods, Inc., a restaurant chain and the nation's leading supplier of blue swimming crab meat, has died, the company said Tuesday in a statement. He was 50.
Sneed had a heart attack in his home on Monday, the company said.
The University of Kentucky graduate started with the company 20 years ago, was general manager of Phillips' flagship restaurant in Washington, D.C., and directed the company's training and operations before becoming president in 1996. In 1997, he successfully launched Phillips Foods Inc., the company's manufacturing business.
'Mr. Sneed led the explosive growth of the company over the last 10 years,' officials said.
The company sells products in 15,000 retail outlets in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe.
Sneed also oversaw the opening of new restaurants in Charleston, S.C. and Atlantic City, N.J.
Sneed is survived by his wife, Candace, and three children, Savannah, Bailey and Davis.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.