HANOVER, Pa. — Building a regional potato chip company into a national salty snack powerhouse doesn’t happen by accident; it takes decades of relentless attention to small details.
Utz Brands, Inc. (NYSE: UTZ) announced with deep sorrow that Michael “Mike” W. Rice, the patriarch who guided the company for over half a century, passed away on October 10, 2026, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, at the age of 84.
Key Takeaways
- Lifelong Dedication: Born in 1942 to Francis Xavier Rice and Arlene Utz Rice (daughter of founders Bill and Salie Utz), Mike started working in the family business at age 11, unloading 100-pound potato sacks.
- Half a Century at the Helm: After earning his law degree, Rice formally joined Utz in 1968, stepping up as CEO in 1978 and serving as Chairman and CEO starting in 1992.
- Pending Privatization Unaffected: Utz confirmed that Rice’s passing will not impact the planned Q4 2026 closing of the company’s transaction with Intersnack Group and the Rice and Lissette families to return Utz to private ownership.
Mike Rice’s story is the quintessential American family business epic.
Growing up literally inside the Hanover factory, his early summers were spent hauling heavy burlap potato sacks before he ever set foot in a corporate boardroom.
Following graduation from Mount St. Mary’s University in 1965 and George Washington University Law School in 1968, he stepped into the business full-time.
Under his operational guidance starting in the late 1970s, Utz evolved from a localized Central Pennsylvania and Maryland staple into a national brand, expanding its manufacturing footprint and snapping up regional competitors.
Employees frequently quoted his foundational corporate philosophy: “Take care of the little things, and the big things will take care of themselves. Pay attention to the details.”
Howard Friedman, Chief Executive Officer at Utz, paid tribute to his lasting cultural impact:
“Mike is a true Utz icon whose contributions to the company are too numerous to count. What was always clear was Mike’s belief and treatment of the associates of this company as family. His legacy at Utz will forever live on.”
In 2012, Rice transitioned the day-to-day reins to Dylan Lissette, a fourth-generation family member married to Rice’s daughter Stacie.
Following the company’s public debut on the NYSE in 2020, Rice served as Chairman Emeritus, stepping down from the active board in August 2024.
In December 2024, the company honored his generational contributions by naming its massive 650,000-square-foot national logistics facility the Rice Distribution Center.
Dylan Lissette, Chairperson of the Utz Board of Directors, reflected on their decades working side by side:
“After 30-plus years of working aside Mike, I can easily say that there was no other individual who contributed so much to the success of this business over the last 50 plus years. Mike had a strategic vision of where this company could go, hired great people along the way, and I know ultimately that there was nothing that gave him more pride than hearing about our associates, and their successes in growing the company across the US.”
Beyond his corporate achievements, Rice was deeply embedded in the Hanover, PA community.
In 2017, he and his wife Jane established the Rice Family Foundation, which has poured millions into local education, healthcare, and family wellness initiatives.
As Utz prepares to return to private company status later this year through its partnership with Intersnack Group and the founding families, the foundation Mike Rice poured his life into remains rock solid.
The potato chip aisles across America look a whole lot saltier and better because of the care he put into the little things.
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