Ben B. Schwartz welcomes newest member to corporate fold
Ben B. Schwartz welcomes newest member to corporate fold
The unbridled enthusiasm of the young has a way of rubbing off on everyone at Ben B. Schwartz & Sons Inc. and that includes Chief Operating Officer Nate Stone. “This is a great place to work,” he told The Produce News.
After more than a century in the fresh produce business, the work environment at the company has just the right balance of a work-hard, play-hard philosophy to keep things interesting.
Ben B. is located on the Detroit Produce Terminal and moves a vast array of globally-sourced fresh produce to its customers throughout the Detroit metropolitan area and into Canada.
As for the driving force behind the company’s success, Stone summed things up this way. “Lions, tigers and… Billmeyers, oh my.”
Ben B.’s President, Chris Billmeyer, has been a long-time supporter of bringing fresh, new thinking into the corporate fold. “The produce industry is becoming tech savvy,” Stone noted. “This company has made a point to bring in young people. Tech-savvy people. People who will be here for a long time.”
Most recently, Ben B. welcomed Chris Billmeyer’s son, Drew, to the organization. Drew Billmeyer joins his younger brother, Jake — who took his own place at Ben B. several years ago — as the vanguards of the family’s fourth generation.
“Drew and his fiancée decided to come home and be part of the fourth generation at the helm,” said Stone. Drew Billmeyer worked as an options trader at Wolverine Trading in Chicago for seven years before joining Ben B. He graduated from the University of Michigan Business School in 2007.
“It’s a great time for the company,” Stone continued, adding that the drive and energy Drew brings to Ben B. is contagious. “This young man is so smart.”
Stone said the Billmeyer family has always been close. “If they weren’t, they couldn’t have made it this far,” he observed.
Drew Billmeyer plans to learn all facets of the business in preparation for that day when he and his brother, Jake, will assume their leadership roles.
