DELANO, CA - Sales is about being a mirror. It is about building relationships and supporting your partners—and all for the good of the business and customers. I learned this from Eric D’Amato one afternoon as he drove across Bakersfield, California, at the end of the day. You can tell in the cadence of his voice that he is at home in this new role at Four Star Fruit and even more at ease in the region he has called home for all of his life. While he is not about titles, which makes him even more worthy of it, in my opinion, I congratulate him on becoming the company’s first Chief Sales Officer.

“Four Star Fruit is a wonderful company to be a part of,” Eric expresses. “I have known the Campbell family for many years, and they have always been driven and committed trailblazers in our industry. There are many opportunities on the horizon, and I am excited to be a part of our growth.”

Eric’s new role is a natural evolution of his time on the sales side of Four Star Fruit. Looking ahead, he will concentrate on watching over and analyzing the company’s farming and selling from the ground up—from strategies and resources to ads and customer service.

“Simply put, it is about watching the fruit come in and then watching how it's going out as well. All the details that are a part of that process matter to the success of the business. So, I'm going to have my hands in a lot of different places. Understanding the tech side of the business and how we can evolve and execute with today’s new tools will also be a huge part of how we move forward,” Eric says.

Speaking of tech, Eric tells me a story, one that started far from ag but has played a pivotal role in his journey ever since.

“After college, I got into computer science, deploying computerized maintenance management systems from about 1998 to 2006. That is where I cut my teeth,” Eric shares. “That's when I jumped into ag. I was more of an independent contractor, on the road all of the time—part broker, part sales. I was always gone, and I had two kids at home. So, I woke up one icy day in New York City after a six-week stint and said, 'I can't do this kind of travel anymore.' I was done.”

Eric dug into his connections in Bakersfield and joined Delano Farms on the sales desk also managing many operational aspects as time went on. When he made the jump to Four Star Fruit, he had laid a firm foundation on which to grow.

And the rest, as we say, is history—though there is a whole lot of today, tomorrow, and the future not to be overlooked.

Please help me congratulate Eric on this new role and the exciting road ahead for Four Star Fruit.