Church Brothers Farms Adds to Sales Team and Promotes Staff
SALINAS, CA - As part of its plans to grow both its foodservice and retail capabilities, Church Brothers Farms has bolstered its leadership team with new additions and promotions.
“These important organizational changes will provide a foundation for continued growth of our Mexican operations and support our goal to expand our retail footprint,” said Rick Russo, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “We look forward to having industry professionals join us who can bring their expertise and knowledge to our team.”
First up in the new apointees is Bob Licker, who recently joined Church Brothers as Regional Sales Manager of the East Coast.
Licker brings to his role more than 44 years of experience across a variety of roles within the industry. Most recently, he worked at Mann Packing as the Northeast Regional Manager for Foodservice. Prior to that, according to a release, he served with US Foods as a Specialist and then Regional Category Manager for the Northeast.
Dan Walker also recently joined the company as Sales Support Specialist.
Walker has more than 19 years of experience in finance and worked seven years in the produce biz. His credentials include time spent with the Nunes Company in Walmart replenishment. He also worked at Sabor Farms focusing on crop production and forecasting. At Church Brothers Farms, Walker will focus on inbound logistics from the company’s Mexico facility to optimize customer service.
The grower also promoted Elia Lopez to Planning and Logistics Manager for its San Luis plant in Mexico. In her new role, she will manage San Luis’s scheduling department and raw product availability to ensure efficiency between all locations and ensure an orderly flow of finished product from the San Luis facility. Lopez has been with Church Brothers Farms since 2002.
Last but not least, Church Brothers Farms also added industry veterans Andy Abbott and Shayne Gordon as Contract Sales Managers. Their focus is on managing the company’s broker network and building retail value-added programs across the United States.
Congratulations to all! We look forward to seeing where these new leaders will take Church Brothers Farms.
