Aaron Alt, the CFO of Sysco, the food distributor, has resigned to become the CFO of Cardinal Health, based in Dublin, Ohio.

Mr. Alt had been the CFO at Sysco (market cap $40 billion) for just over two years. Prior to that, he was CFO at Dallas-based Sally Beauty Holdings and also worked for Target and Sara Lee Corporation. He holds an M.B.A. from J.L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

At Cardinal (market cap $20 billion), Mr Alt will receive a base salary of $825,000. That’s a small increase on his base at Sysco ($791,000). He will also receive a cash sign-on bonus of $1 million and a lump sum payment of $250,000 for his intended relocation. Mr. Alt will also be eligible for annual long-term stock incentives with a target value of $3.5 million. That’s about a $1 million higher than his annual target at Sysco.

In August, the Cardinal CEO Mike Kaufmann resigned, to be replaced by CFO Jason Hollar. The following week, activist shareholder Elliott Management took a large stake in the business. Cardinal has sinced agreed to appoint an Elliott representative to the board and appoint four other new independent directors.

Cardinal has under-performed its competitors in the past few years and, according to the Wall Street Journal, Elliott will likely push for the sale of the medical supplies business.

Sysco appointed Neil Russell, Senior VP of Corporate Affairs and Chief Communications Officer, as its interim CFO. The company has commenced a search for Mr. Alt’s successor.

SEC filing – 8-K Cardinal Health CFO