In 1945 in San Francisco, Victor and Charlotte Cortesi started V&C Foods with fresh eggs and a distributor’s vision. What makes the business distinctive isn’t just that it endured. It’s how succession actually happened. When Victor passed, his daughter Judy inherited the business and made a remarkable choice: she recognized that Steven Herrera, who’d spent years as a route driver being mentored by Victor, was ready to lead. She sold the business to Steven, ensuring the values and relationships that defined V&C would continue into its next chapter. Now Steven is mentoring his son Adam in the same way Victor developed him—teaching him operations, relationships, and what it means to lead through experience and responsibility.

V&C’s story reflects a broader truth about succession planning: long-term continuity often depends on intentionally developing the next generation of leadership, whether within a family or beyond it.

From Mentorship to Legacy

When Steven first arrived at V&C as a route driver, he was hungry to learn. Victor saw potential and invested in it. Over the years, Steven moved through sales, distribution, and operations—not just learning how the business worked but understanding why it mattered. By the time Steven purchased the business, he was a leader who’d earned his place through partnership and decades of trust.

Steven arrived at the helm with deep knowledge of V&C’s operations and a clear sense of how to serve the Bay Area’s evolving restaurant industry. He understood the Cortesi family’s core principle: reliability and quality matter more than anything else. Under his leadership—and the support of his wife Liz, and his children Victoria and Adam—V&C expanded thoughtfully by building on those foundations rather than abandoning them.

“We want to be the vendor customers don’t have to worry about,” Steven said. “And Victor always preached about clear communication—sometimes trucks are late, but he always kept customers informed. I drill those principles into my son now. We don’t want to leave any customer hanging. That’s the mantra around here.”

Deliberate Development

According to recent Chase research, 54% of San Francisco small business owners expect to retire within the next decade. In a city where one in seven businesses have been operating for 20 years or more, ownership transitions will shape continuity in local commerce and community life—making proactive succession planning all the more essential.

V&C planned deliberately. The Cortesi family brought Steven in early and developed him through real responsibility. When Steven took the helm and began scaling operations, he had the continuity and clarity needed to grow. Now he’s creating the same culture with Adam—one where the next generation understands expectations and has the tools to lead.

“I had a lifetime of familiarity with the business. I even worked in high school and college during the summers, and my dad taught me how to drive one of the trucks when I was about 18,” Adam said. “So I’ve done every part of the job, just like my dad, and I think that’s helped me.”

For roughly two decades, V&C has partnered with Chase. When Steven took over and began scaling operations, having access to financial tools and a banking partner aligned with his strategy made navigating growth and transition clearer. Chase provided the guidance that supported each phase of the business’s evolution—from Victor’s leadership to Steven’s expansion to today’s preparation for Adam.

“V&C Foods shows what enduring leadership really looks like—developing people over time, creating clear expectations, and planning for transition before it’s urgent. We’ve been proud to support Steven and the team with the tools and guidance to navigate growth, stay reliable for their customers, and prepare the next generation to step in with confidence,” said Gary Li, Business Relationship Manager, Chase Business Banking.

The Pattern That Lasts

Succession planning works when businesses invest in developing leaders before they’re needed. Victor and Judy did this with Steven. Steven is now doing it with Adam. Each transfer happened because someone took years to teach, to trust gradually and let the next generation earn their place.

That’s what makes V&C’s story distinctive and what makes it transferable. Succession doesn’t require biological heirs alone. It requires clarity about what you’re building and the discipline to develop people who can steward it, even when that means passing it outside the family. Victor and his daughter, Judy, mentored Steven for years. Judy worked alongside him for many more before trusting him with the business. Steven is doing the same with Adam. But bringing someone along that way—investing years in their growth, then having the financial clarity to pass the reins—requires more than good intentions.

Chase for Business can help guide that work. Visit chase.com/NationalTreasures or speak with a Chase Business advisor to learn more about succession planning resources and how to build the clarity a business needs to thrive across generations.

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