Calavo Growers makes key appointments

Calavo Growers has appointed Danny Dumas as senior vice president and general manager, Calavo Grown, filling the role held by Robert Wedin who is retiring after 49 years with the company. The company also named Shawn Munsell as its chief financial officer.

Dumas has more than 30 years of experience in the produce industry, primarily with Del Monte Fresh Produce and, most recently, serving as president of Courchesne Larose USA.

At Del Monte, his roles included senior vice president North American sales, marketing & product management; vice president sales – Canada; and vice president operations fresh (Europe & Africa).

In April, Calavo announced it would reorganise its business into two segments, Grown and Prepared, with a senior vice president and general manager responsible for each. Dumas will lead the Grown segment, which consists of fresh avocados, tomatoes and papayas.

“We are fortunate to have someone with Danny’s experience and capabilities join the team,” said Brian W. Kocher, president and CEO of Calavo Growers.

“His knowledge of fresh produce sales, marketing and operations will be an asset to the company as we move forward under our new segment structure that aligns product fulfilment responsibilities with P&L management.”

“I’m excited about assuming this new role at a time when I can have a real impact on Calavo’s long-term growth” Dumas said. “I’m looking forward to working with our customers to provide consumers with the on-trend, healthy foods they seek.”

Kocher continued: “I want to thank Rob Wedin for his nearly 50 years of service to Calavo.

“Rob has been looking forward to his retirement for some time, and I appreciate that he has not only continued working until we filled his role he also agreed to stay on through the end of the year as an adviser through the transition.”

Kocher said Wedin has been instrumental in expanding Calavo’s line of high-growth avocado and related commodity foods; always provided steady and consistent guidance; and always strove to find winning solutions between customers, growers and the company.

He is a widely respected expert in the industry, serving as the current chairman of the Hass Avocado Board Global Data Committee and is a former Executive Committee member at producesupply.org.

Wedin also is the past director of the California Avocado Commission and past chairman of the Avocado Inspection Committee.

“I’m truly fortunate that I’ve had such a long and successful career at one company, but after nearly 50 years, it’s time for me to take a step back,” Wedin said.

“The people at Calavo are like a family to me, and while I will miss seeing everyone every day, I’m looking forward to this next chapter.”

Prior to joining Calavo, new CFO Shawn Munsell led the finance and accounting functions for Tyson Foods’ chicken segment, with fiscal 2021 revenues of US$14bn, as senior vice president of finance and accounting.

Previously, he served as Tyson’s treasurer. Prior to Tyson, Munsell was with CF Industries, serving in a variety of roles with progressive responsibility for the nitrogen products manufacturer.

“We are thrilled to have Shawn bring this level of expertise to the Calavo team,” said Kocher.

“Shawn is a results-oriented leader with a breadth of finance experience. He has demonstrated his dedication and loyalty by accumulating more than 20 years of operational finance and treasury experience with his two previous companies in the food and commodities industries.

“We’re looking forward to the strong leadership and contributions Shawn will make in the years to come as we continue driving sequential improvement throughout our business.”

Munsell commented: “Joining Calavo in the early stages of a turnaround with the opportunity to positively affect change and impact results is very exciting.

“There is a talented team in place, and I’m confident that together we can refine processes, create efficiencies and position Calavo for long-term growth.”