Joe Leonard to lead Bonipak
Joe Leonard to lead Bonipak
Santa Maria, CA-based Bonipak Produce Co. has hired Joe Leonard as chief executive officer.
Mr. Leonard officially began in his new position March 1, though he has been a consultant to Bonipak since near the end of 2007, according to Mitch Ardantz, Bonipak's vice president of sales and marketing.
Mr. Ardantz is a longtime personal acquaintance of Mr. Leonard, though Mr. Leonard previously was not in fresh produce. In the past, Mr. Leonard had worked for years for Richmond, VA-based C.F. Sauer Co., a producer of a variety of condiments and seasonings, as that company's president of branded products. Sauer bought Spice Hunter, and Mr. Leonard relocated from the East Coast in the mid-1990s to become Spice Hunter's vice president of sales and marketing at its headquarters in San Luis Obispo, CA, near Santa Maria.
Mr. Leonard "brings an expertise in sales and marketing with an emphasis in finance," Mr. Ardantz said. "He brings organizational skills and interpersonal skills."
Bonipak is a family-run business that has three second-generation family members and five third-generation family members, of which Mr. Ardantz is one, among its staff.
Mr. Leonard's hiring follows the untimely death of Joe Prandini, Bonipak's general manager and CEO and a 30-year veteran of Bonipak, who died Oct. 21, 2006, of a heart attack while boarding a private plane destined for the Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit in San Diego.
After Mr. Prandini's death, Bonipak partner Craig Reade, one of the five third- generation family members involved in the company, was named the company's new chief executive officer and general manager.
Mr. Reade remains a partner in Bonipak but relinquished the title of chief executive officer to Mr. Leonard and no longer holds the position of general manager. Henry Ardantz still holds the title of president.
Bonipak was in no hurry to find a permanent chief executive officer. "We did it at our own speed," Mr. Ardantz said. "We spent the year after Mr. Prandini's passing to immerse ourselves as much as possible" in the business.
Mr. Leonard and his wife, Karen, live in the Napoma, CA, area, near Santa Maria. They have two grown children.
Mr. Leonard officially began in his new position March 1, though he has been a consultant to Bonipak since near the end of 2007, according to Mitch Ardantz, Bonipak's vice president of sales and marketing.
Mr. Ardantz is a longtime personal acquaintance of Mr. Leonard, though Mr. Leonard previously was not in fresh produce. In the past, Mr. Leonard had worked for years for Richmond, VA-based C.F. Sauer Co., a producer of a variety of condiments and seasonings, as that company's president of branded products. Sauer bought Spice Hunter, and Mr. Leonard relocated from the East Coast in the mid-1990s to become Spice Hunter's vice president of sales and marketing at its headquarters in San Luis Obispo, CA, near Santa Maria.
Mr. Leonard "brings an expertise in sales and marketing with an emphasis in finance," Mr. Ardantz said. "He brings organizational skills and interpersonal skills."
Bonipak is a family-run business that has three second-generation family members and five third-generation family members, of which Mr. Ardantz is one, among its staff.
Mr. Leonard's hiring follows the untimely death of Joe Prandini, Bonipak's general manager and CEO and a 30-year veteran of Bonipak, who died Oct. 21, 2006, of a heart attack while boarding a private plane destined for the Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit in San Diego.
After Mr. Prandini's death, Bonipak partner Craig Reade, one of the five third- generation family members involved in the company, was named the company's new chief executive officer and general manager.
Mr. Reade remains a partner in Bonipak but relinquished the title of chief executive officer to Mr. Leonard and no longer holds the position of general manager. Henry Ardantz still holds the title of president.
Bonipak was in no hurry to find a permanent chief executive officer. "We did it at our own speed," Mr. Ardantz said. "We spent the year after Mr. Prandini's passing to immerse ourselves as much as possible" in the business.
Mr. Leonard and his wife, Karen, live in the Napoma, CA, area, near Santa Maria. They have two grown children.
