Eastes to leave Sunkist Global; Tompkins to fill void
Eastes to leave Sunkist Global; Tompkins to fill void
Rick Eastes, director of global sourcing for Sunkist Global LLC, has elected not to renew his agreement with the Sunkist subsidiary company beyond Nov. 30, and Mark Tompkins, produce industry veteran and former head of Sunkist's domestic sales network, is returning to replace him.
Mr. Eastes joined the newly created Sunkist Global as its first employee Feb. 1, 2004, with the charge of developing counter-seasonal and complementary citrus from sources outside the United States under the "Sunkist" brand.
In 2006, Sunkist Global was able to source nearly 2.5 million boxes of "Sunkist" branded citrus from South Africa, Australia and Mexico for sale not only in the United States and Canada but throughout Southeast Asia, Japan, China and South Korea.
"We've done a lot of good things," Mr. Eastes said of his three full seasons with Sunkist. "The ['Sunkist'] brand has especially good cach? in Southeast Asia." Sunkist has been able to establish that there is worldwide demand for high-quality citrus under the "Sunkist" brand, he said.
Mr. Eastes said that he is grateful that the opportunity to work for Sunkist has allowed him to establish some new relationships within Sunkist as well as with growers, packers and wholesale and retail receivers around the world. "Working to start Sunkist Global LLC has been a great adventure," Mr. Eastes said. "I believe it has added value to Sunkist's growers as well as its foreign suppliers and receivers of 'Sunkist' branded citrus."
He said that he expects Sunkist "will continue to pursue the year-around supply concepts that have been put in place over the last three seasons."
Mr. Eastes is departing Sunkist without a job lined up, but he said that in seeking a change, he will take time to try to find the right job for himself within the fresh produce industry. A good fit might be as a chief operating officer of a company that is in a growth mode, he said. He would like to take his experiences in sales and marketing and match them with his skills in team building.
A native of Arizona, Mr. Eastes and his wife, Mary Jo, make their home in Visalia, CA. He said that he would like to continue living in California.
As general manager of Sunkist Global Sourcing, Mr. Tompkins will be responsible for securing production and folding it seamlessly into the Sunkist international sales and delivery network. Sunkist is sourcing complementary citrus fruit from South Africa, Australia and Mexico and delivering it to customers in North America and Asia.
As part of Sunkist's ongoing customer-focused marketing strategy, Sunkist Global sources high-quality citrus products from around the world to complement California and Arizona-grown citrus in providing a year-round supply of citrus products to its international customer network.
"Mark is a unique resource," said Russ Hanlin, Sunkist's senior vice president of sales and marketing. "He understands the citrus industry from both the production and marketing perspectives, and he has a stellar reputation with the trade, having many long-term relationships built on mutual trust and respect."
Mr. Tompkins has spent more than 30 years with Sunkist, serving in many capacities including director of sales operations and head of domestic marketing. He began his Sunkist career as a sales clerk and inspector in Canada, rising quickly through the ranks to sales merchandiser, assistant manager and then district sales manager of Sunkist's Vancouver office. He is a winner of the prestigious President's Award for Marketing Excellence.
Mr. Tompkins emigrated to the United States as director of sales operations. In that role, he directed Sunkist's supply management, projection and pricing functions, working closely with the sales force, packinghouses and customers. He was promoted to director of domestic marketing, where he was responsible for Sunkist's entire domestic sales network in the United States and Canada. In that capacity, he planned sales and marketing efforts with key retailers, wholesalers and foodservice customers in the United States and Canada, coordinating them with the production end of the business.
In addition to his knowledge of Sunkist's operations and sales, Mr. Tompkins brings extensive experience gained from his stint as general manager and director of marketing and sales with Sage Fruit LLC, where he integrated three apple packers under one label and created the marketing and sales operations for the new company.
After three years with Sage, Mr. Tompkins returned to the citrus business as vice president of sales and marketing for DNE California Inc. In addition to U.S.-grown fruit, DNE World Fruit Sales markets imported citrus from Australia, Spain, Morocco, South Africa, Chile, Argentina and the Bahamas. While with DNE, Mr. Tompkins directed the California marketing and sales program and played an important role working with the entire sales team coordinating major account programs.
"I enjoyed my work in the apple industry," Mr. Tompkins said in a press release. "But after all my years in the citrus industry, I missed it. It's what I know best."
Mr. Eastes joined the newly created Sunkist Global as its first employee Feb. 1, 2004, with the charge of developing counter-seasonal and complementary citrus from sources outside the United States under the "Sunkist" brand.
In 2006, Sunkist Global was able to source nearly 2.5 million boxes of "Sunkist" branded citrus from South Africa, Australia and Mexico for sale not only in the United States and Canada but throughout Southeast Asia, Japan, China and South Korea.
"We've done a lot of good things," Mr. Eastes said of his three full seasons with Sunkist. "The ['Sunkist'] brand has especially good cach? in Southeast Asia." Sunkist has been able to establish that there is worldwide demand for high-quality citrus under the "Sunkist" brand, he said.
Mr. Eastes said that he is grateful that the opportunity to work for Sunkist has allowed him to establish some new relationships within Sunkist as well as with growers, packers and wholesale and retail receivers around the world. "Working to start Sunkist Global LLC has been a great adventure," Mr. Eastes said. "I believe it has added value to Sunkist's growers as well as its foreign suppliers and receivers of 'Sunkist' branded citrus."
He said that he expects Sunkist "will continue to pursue the year-around supply concepts that have been put in place over the last three seasons."
Mr. Eastes is departing Sunkist without a job lined up, but he said that in seeking a change, he will take time to try to find the right job for himself within the fresh produce industry. A good fit might be as a chief operating officer of a company that is in a growth mode, he said. He would like to take his experiences in sales and marketing and match them with his skills in team building.
A native of Arizona, Mr. Eastes and his wife, Mary Jo, make their home in Visalia, CA. He said that he would like to continue living in California.
As general manager of Sunkist Global Sourcing, Mr. Tompkins will be responsible for securing production and folding it seamlessly into the Sunkist international sales and delivery network. Sunkist is sourcing complementary citrus fruit from South Africa, Australia and Mexico and delivering it to customers in North America and Asia.
As part of Sunkist's ongoing customer-focused marketing strategy, Sunkist Global sources high-quality citrus products from around the world to complement California and Arizona-grown citrus in providing a year-round supply of citrus products to its international customer network.
"Mark is a unique resource," said Russ Hanlin, Sunkist's senior vice president of sales and marketing. "He understands the citrus industry from both the production and marketing perspectives, and he has a stellar reputation with the trade, having many long-term relationships built on mutual trust and respect."
Mr. Tompkins has spent more than 30 years with Sunkist, serving in many capacities including director of sales operations and head of domestic marketing. He began his Sunkist career as a sales clerk and inspector in Canada, rising quickly through the ranks to sales merchandiser, assistant manager and then district sales manager of Sunkist's Vancouver office. He is a winner of the prestigious President's Award for Marketing Excellence.
Mr. Tompkins emigrated to the United States as director of sales operations. In that role, he directed Sunkist's supply management, projection and pricing functions, working closely with the sales force, packinghouses and customers. He was promoted to director of domestic marketing, where he was responsible for Sunkist's entire domestic sales network in the United States and Canada. In that capacity, he planned sales and marketing efforts with key retailers, wholesalers and foodservice customers in the United States and Canada, coordinating them with the production end of the business.
In addition to his knowledge of Sunkist's operations and sales, Mr. Tompkins brings extensive experience gained from his stint as general manager and director of marketing and sales with Sage Fruit LLC, where he integrated three apple packers under one label and created the marketing and sales operations for the new company.
After three years with Sage, Mr. Tompkins returned to the citrus business as vice president of sales and marketing for DNE California Inc. In addition to U.S.-grown fruit, DNE World Fruit Sales markets imported citrus from Australia, Spain, Morocco, South Africa, Chile, Argentina and the Bahamas. While with DNE, Mr. Tompkins directed the California marketing and sales program and played an important role working with the entire sales team coordinating major account programs.
"I enjoyed my work in the apple industry," Mr. Tompkins said in a press release. "But after all my years in the citrus industry, I missed it. It's what I know best."
