Soft-fruit breeder Driscoll’s has announced a new global management team to boost its business strategy.
J. Miles Reiter, US-based Driscoll’s chairman and chief executive, said: “Our mission is to continually delight berry consumers through alignment with our customers and our berry growers... Looking to the future, we will have a broader global reach and must be well co-ordinated to pursue our core mission across a wide range of geographies and cultural traditions. The changes in our executive management structure… will position us to build new capabilities for the next 25 years of continued growth in this exciting industry.”
The new team will be in post by 1 December and will see Kevin Murphy promoted from president of Driscoll’s of the Americas to president and chief operating officer. Reiter said: “Kevin has demonstrated the leadership skills, focus and judgment required to take our diverse global business units to the levels called for in the strategic plan.”
Soren Bjorn will fill Murphy’s previous role, having served as senior vice president of Driscoll’s International Business & Global Technologies with responsibility for directing its business units in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Australia. Bjorn will also become an executive vice president in the new structure.
Theo Houwen has become a senior vice president at Driscoll’s and with it retains responsibility for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, reporting directly to Kevin Murphy.
Reiter said: “I am excited by the future for Driscoll’s under Kevin’s leadership. We are putting in place the leadership, organisation capabilities and collaborations with our customer and berry grower partners that will enable us to achieve the aspiration of our global vision.”
In the UK, Driscoll’s partners with Berry Gardens and Berry Gardens Growers Ltd to market and grow Driscoll’s varieties.
