Index Fresh, a leading avocado packer and marketer, based in Riverside, CA, announced staff appointments to its sales and food-safety teams.

Joseph (Mark) Buhl was recently named director of international sales business development, with responsibility of raising awareness globally about avocados for the company.Joseph (Mark) Buhl

Buhl began his career with an international trading company whose main focus was exports to Europe and the United Kingdom. There he was involved in building a program of stone fruit, apples, cherries, grapes and vegetables for major importers and supermarkets. After several years, he set out on his own with an export and consulting company, with an emphasis on consulting for international food chains, packaging companies, logistic organizations and global retailers to find and implement efficiencies in their supply chains.Bobby Fingerlin

Buhl studied Chinese in college abroad and has gained language skills and work experience that have become a major professional asset.

Bobby Fingerlin recently joined the sales team at Index Fresh after years of working in sales. He stood out from other applicants with his persistence, according to John Dmytriw, director of sales and marketing.Evangelina Kaudze

“Most applicants don’t follow up their resume with a phone call, unfortunately,” said Dmytriw. “Bobby, on the other hand, demonstrated his strong desire to be a part of the Index Fresh team right away by taking that initial step, and then taking the initiative to maintain that engagement with Index Fresh. In our industry, persistence is key.”

Evangelina Kaudze joined Index Fresh as food-safety and compliance manager, where she is responsible for developing and updating procedures for food safety and ensuring that every company that works with Index Fresh meets the company’s social responsibility standards.

Kaudze has a decade of experience in the produce industry and has worked in multiple areas, from sales to production.

“I want Index Fresh to be as well known for doing as much for food safety in the industry as we are known for what we do for growers,” she said.