Sunkist removes interim tag from its president and CEO
Sunkist removes interim tag from its president and CEO
The board of directors of Sunkist Growers in Sherman Oaks, CA, unanimously elected Timothy J. Lindgren as president and chief executive officer of the citrus marketing cooperative. He had been serving as interim president and CEO of the organization since June.
Mr. Lindgren is the former president of Fruit Growers Supply Co., a sister cooperative affiliate of Sunkist involved in agricultural supplies, packaging and timberland management, a position he held for 26 years before retiring in 2003. With 31 years of experience with the Sunkist-FGS system, he has extensive operational knowledge of all aspects of the Sunkist system and is well known in the U.S. agriculture industry.
Mr. Lindgren was appointed executive vice president in April to aid in the transition to new company leadership when former president Jeff Gargiulo decided not to renew his contract. When Mr. Gargiulo's contract expired in June, Mr. Lindgren was appointed interim president and CEO.
"While serving as interim president, Tim Lindgren demonstrated all the leadership, experience, dedication and judgment attributes we sought in a new CEO. The search committee concluded that we could find no finer or more qualified individual to take the reins of our cooperative at this time," Nicholas L. Bozick, Sunkist chairman of the board, said in a statement.
Mr. Lindgren's selection followed a nationwide search. "The selection committee interviewed a number of excellent individuals," Mr. Bozick added in the statement, "and they unanimously agreed that Tim's leadership capabilities and his depth of knowledge and experience make him the perfect choice. He not only very effectively steered Sunkist through the transition period of the past few months, he has done so while overseeing an excellent 2005-06 season."
Mr. Lindgren recently announced a realignment of the Sunkist's organizational structure, providing a more integrated approach to operations and better utilization of the resources. Russ Hanlin was named senior vice president of sales and marketing, and Michael Wootton was named vice president of corporate relations and administration.
Mr. Hanlin brings 28 years of experience to the oversight of Sunkist's sales and marketing functions for fresh fruit and licensed products. He also oversees Sunkist's interests in its two LLCs: Sunkist Global Sourcing and Sunkist/Taylor LLC, a new fresh-cut produce joint venture.
Mr. Wootton, who joined Sunkist in 1997, now directs the cooperative's corporate communications, grower and government relations, research and technical services, food safety, human resources, and administrative functions.
"I am honored to have been chosen to lead Sunkist for the next two years," Mr. Lindgren said in the statement. "I am proud of being able to continue to give back to a system that has given so much over the years to the citrus growers of California and Arizona."
Mr. Lindgren is the former president of Fruit Growers Supply Co., a sister cooperative affiliate of Sunkist involved in agricultural supplies, packaging and timberland management, a position he held for 26 years before retiring in 2003. With 31 years of experience with the Sunkist-FGS system, he has extensive operational knowledge of all aspects of the Sunkist system and is well known in the U.S. agriculture industry.
Mr. Lindgren was appointed executive vice president in April to aid in the transition to new company leadership when former president Jeff Gargiulo decided not to renew his contract. When Mr. Gargiulo's contract expired in June, Mr. Lindgren was appointed interim president and CEO.
"While serving as interim president, Tim Lindgren demonstrated all the leadership, experience, dedication and judgment attributes we sought in a new CEO. The search committee concluded that we could find no finer or more qualified individual to take the reins of our cooperative at this time," Nicholas L. Bozick, Sunkist chairman of the board, said in a statement.
Mr. Lindgren's selection followed a nationwide search. "The selection committee interviewed a number of excellent individuals," Mr. Bozick added in the statement, "and they unanimously agreed that Tim's leadership capabilities and his depth of knowledge and experience make him the perfect choice. He not only very effectively steered Sunkist through the transition period of the past few months, he has done so while overseeing an excellent 2005-06 season."
Mr. Lindgren recently announced a realignment of the Sunkist's organizational structure, providing a more integrated approach to operations and better utilization of the resources. Russ Hanlin was named senior vice president of sales and marketing, and Michael Wootton was named vice president of corporate relations and administration.
Mr. Hanlin brings 28 years of experience to the oversight of Sunkist's sales and marketing functions for fresh fruit and licensed products. He also oversees Sunkist's interests in its two LLCs: Sunkist Global Sourcing and Sunkist/Taylor LLC, a new fresh-cut produce joint venture.
Mr. Wootton, who joined Sunkist in 1997, now directs the cooperative's corporate communications, grower and government relations, research and technical services, food safety, human resources, and administrative functions.
"I am honored to have been chosen to lead Sunkist for the next two years," Mr. Lindgren said in the statement. "I am proud of being able to continue to give back to a system that has given so much over the years to the citrus growers of California and Arizona."
