Breech retiring as CEO of Pandol Bros. after 25 years with firm
Breech retiring as CEO of Pandol Bros. after 25 years with firm
Pandol Bros. Inc. in Delano, CA, announced April 16 that the company has initiated a search for a new chief executive officer to replace Jack Breech, who will be retiring from the company.
The Pandol family hired Mr. Breech in 2001 "to help transition the company from its entrepreneurial roots to professional management and financial discipline," according to a company press release.
However, Mr. Breech had been involved with Pandol family businesses in other capacities already.
He began his career as a certified public accountant with Arthur Andersen. He was initially brought into the Pandol family operations in the early 1980s, at a time when "we were expanding in business both domestically and globally," said John Pandol, a partner in the business. "He was [put] in charge of what we called the affiliates," a group of domestic and international operations that ranged from Chilean operations and international distribution to an agricultural chemicals business, a hardware business and a box plant, "in an overseer capacity."
Later, Mr. Breech was made general manager of the family's packaging company, Agri-Cel Inc., and held that position for 10 years before being named CEO.
The Pandol agribusiness operations were started in 1941 by Steve and Margaret Pandol, "followed by their three sons -- Jack, Matt and Steve," according to the press release. They "built one of the premier table grape brands in the produce industry."
Several members of the third generation are now active in the business, and the fourth generation is starting to become involved.
At the time Mr. Breech was hired as CEO, "we were going through a pivotal time in our history," said Andrew Pandol, a brother of John Pandol and one of the partners. "We needed someone to guide us through that transition" from an entrepreneurial family operation to a professionally managed company. "Jack knew our business and shared our family's values, so we turned to him for leadership."
"We reorganized our business structure ... so it is now set for the future," said John Pandol. "In my generation, there are 10 cousins. Half of us are involved in the business, half of them are not. We have now the governance structures in place adequate to a family business that has both active and passive partners."
The family "remains involved" in the business at both board and operational levels, the press release stated. "Last year, it formed the Pandol Family Council, comprised of family members inside and outside the company, to help shape the direction of the company."
Mr. Breech brought "a kind of fiscal discipline" to the overall operation, he said.
Mr. Breech took a very hands-on approach, Andrew Pandol stated. When he was first put in charge of the packaging company, he spent considerable time on the production line learning the business "from the bottom side up." When he was named CEO of Pandol Bros., "he said, 'I need to understand grapes,'" and for two weeks he went out with the field crews for eight hours a day, learning to pick and pack. The following winter, he went out with the pruning crews and learned how to do cane pruning, spur pruning, tipping, gibbing and other cultural practices in order to understand as much as possible of what was involved in the component costs of producing table grapes.
In the office, Mr. Breech put his desk not in a back room but right in the middle of the sales floor so he could "hear the jargon and understand what is going on," Andrew Pandol said.
According to the press release, Jack Pandol Jr., another of the partners, said that the family will "take its time looking for a new CEO, seeking out candidates who embody the family's values and can expand the company's competitive positioning in the marketplace." Mixtec, a produce executive recruiting firm, has been commissioned to conduct the search. "Mr. Breech will continue as CEO until his replacement is on board."
"The Pandol family is the icon of the table grape industry, and I feel very fortunate to have been part of them for 25 years," Mr. Breech said in announcing his retirement from the company. "We've built a very solid family business together, and we're in a good position to move to a stronger consumer marketing platform."
The Pandol family hired Mr. Breech in 2001 "to help transition the company from its entrepreneurial roots to professional management and financial discipline," according to a company press release.
However, Mr. Breech had been involved with Pandol family businesses in other capacities already.
He began his career as a certified public accountant with Arthur Andersen. He was initially brought into the Pandol family operations in the early 1980s, at a time when "we were expanding in business both domestically and globally," said John Pandol, a partner in the business. "He was [put] in charge of what we called the affiliates," a group of domestic and international operations that ranged from Chilean operations and international distribution to an agricultural chemicals business, a hardware business and a box plant, "in an overseer capacity."
Later, Mr. Breech was made general manager of the family's packaging company, Agri-Cel Inc., and held that position for 10 years before being named CEO.
The Pandol agribusiness operations were started in 1941 by Steve and Margaret Pandol, "followed by their three sons -- Jack, Matt and Steve," according to the press release. They "built one of the premier table grape brands in the produce industry."
Several members of the third generation are now active in the business, and the fourth generation is starting to become involved.
At the time Mr. Breech was hired as CEO, "we were going through a pivotal time in our history," said Andrew Pandol, a brother of John Pandol and one of the partners. "We needed someone to guide us through that transition" from an entrepreneurial family operation to a professionally managed company. "Jack knew our business and shared our family's values, so we turned to him for leadership."
"We reorganized our business structure ... so it is now set for the future," said John Pandol. "In my generation, there are 10 cousins. Half of us are involved in the business, half of them are not. We have now the governance structures in place adequate to a family business that has both active and passive partners."
The family "remains involved" in the business at both board and operational levels, the press release stated. "Last year, it formed the Pandol Family Council, comprised of family members inside and outside the company, to help shape the direction of the company."
Mr. Breech brought "a kind of fiscal discipline" to the overall operation, he said.
Mr. Breech took a very hands-on approach, Andrew Pandol stated. When he was first put in charge of the packaging company, he spent considerable time on the production line learning the business "from the bottom side up." When he was named CEO of Pandol Bros., "he said, 'I need to understand grapes,'" and for two weeks he went out with the field crews for eight hours a day, learning to pick and pack. The following winter, he went out with the pruning crews and learned how to do cane pruning, spur pruning, tipping, gibbing and other cultural practices in order to understand as much as possible of what was involved in the component costs of producing table grapes.
In the office, Mr. Breech put his desk not in a back room but right in the middle of the sales floor so he could "hear the jargon and understand what is going on," Andrew Pandol said.
According to the press release, Jack Pandol Jr., another of the partners, said that the family will "take its time looking for a new CEO, seeking out candidates who embody the family's values and can expand the company's competitive positioning in the marketplace." Mixtec, a produce executive recruiting firm, has been commissioned to conduct the search. "Mr. Breech will continue as CEO until his replacement is on board."
"The Pandol family is the icon of the table grape industry, and I feel very fortunate to have been part of them for 25 years," Mr. Breech said in announcing his retirement from the company. "We've built a very solid family business together, and we're in a good position to move to a stronger consumer marketing platform."
