BAKERSFIELD, CA - Sun World International appears to be in a constant state of growth. The fresh fruit provider is continuing to strengthen its powerful leadership team, appointing two new Global Licensing Directors and three new Regional Managers.

First up on the list of appointments is Pablo Ramirez. Ramirez has been promoted as the company’s newest Global Licensing Director. In his new role, he will be responsible for South America, Europe, and China.

As a press release explained, these new management roles bring a focus on the supply of premium products and solutions to meet the industry needs, while taking Sun World to the next level in service of more than 2,000 licensed producers around the globe.

Petri van der Merwe has also been promoted to Global Licensing Director, responsible for North America, South Africa, Israel, Australia, and North Africa. Ramirez and van der Merwe were previously responsible for the company’s South American and North American regions.

Now, the two leaders will extend their responsibilities to developing and onboarding grower relationships in new territories.

The company has also named three new Licensing Managers.

Ben Taieb has been appointed as Licensing Manager for North Africa and selected other new territories, bringing his deep post-harvest expertise across a broad range of produce, in addition to his experience in the retail, distribution, and exporting of fruit.

Daniel Lopez is taking over as Licensing Manager of Peru, working to strengthen relationships with Sun World’s licensees in the region, maintaining promising growth for the industry and the development of new products and opportunities for their licensees and for the Peruvian fruit industry.

On the North America front, Zach Cason has also taken on the role of Licensing Manager, utilizing his previous expertise from an agricultural biotech startup where he worked with growers and packers throughout California to efficiently run operations.

Chief Executive Officer David Marguleas commented on this leadership announcement.

“As our momentum grows worldwide with breeding innovations, the launch of new fruit varieties and brands along with the rapid expansion of our family of licensees, we remain committed to providing our customers with access to our table grape and stonefruit varieties and the accompanying support our local managers offer,” Marguleas said. “These changes include existing team members expanding into new leadership roles, along with the hiring of new licensing managers who bring decades of experience to the field.”

Congratulations to all five of these leaders on their recent promotions!

Sun World International