Sun World removes interim tag from CEO
Sun World removes interim tag from CEO
Six months after naming Allen Vangelos to the position of president and chief executive officer on an interim basis, the owners and board of directors of Sun World International LLC have made the appointment permanent.
The announcement was made in a June 12 press release following a nationwide search for a candidate to fill the position on a permanent basis. "Sun World's board and management team are delighted with Al's decision to accept the position on a permanent basis," board Chairman Christopher Parker said in the release.
Mr. Vangelos has brought enthusiasm, valuable industry knowledge and strong leadership to the company in the short time he has served as president, the release stated.
At the time of his interim appointment six months ago, Mr. Vangelos was serving as a member of Sun World's board of managers. In a telephone interview with The Produce News Jan. 22, Mr. Parker described Mr. Vangelos as "an extremely capable, competitive, talented, intelligent, experienced chief executive, and Sun World and [Sun World's parent company] Black Diamond are both thrilled that he has stepped in to perform this role."
He replaced Bruce Burton, the company's outgoing president and CEO, who had held the position since July 2005, six months after the acquisition of Sun World by Black Diamond.
Mr. Vangelos has more than 36 years of management experience, including 11 years as president and CEO of Calavo Growers of California and, more recently, as a principal of Novelle Consulting LLC, an international agribusiness-consulting firm.
He has also been president of international diversified business and fresh marketing for Dole; chairman and CEO of BC Hothouse Foods Inc.; a member of the advisory board of Key & Co., investment bankers for food and agriculture companies; and chairman of the Russian Farm Project, a Minnesota-based foreign development program to increase the productivity, profitability and quality of life of Russian farmers and rural communities. Mr. Vangelos received a business administration degree from Washington University and has been active in agribusiness seminars at various universities.
He began serving on the Sun World board of managers in October 2006. In a June 16 interview with The Produce News, Mr. Vangelos said that the nationwide search for a new executive, in which he was not involved, yielded several candidates that were interviewed by the owners "but did not surface anyone that the owners felt comfortable with putting in at this time, so they asked me if I would consider staying on" in a permanent capacity.
During the six months since Mr. Vangelos took the reins of the company on an interim basis, "I guess things had started to settle down," he said. "There was a calming effect. People were feeling good about the direction things were going. Obviously [the owners] were happy with the direction I was taking the company in the time I have been here."
Mr. Vangelos' transition from interim to permanent status "gives me time now to complete some of the redirection of the company that I have started," he said. "It also gives me time to hopefully nurture from within a candidate for this job so that when the time comes, it won't be going to a recruiter again."
Mr. Vangelos' vision for the company, and that of its owners, he said, is to "see Sun World rise again from a good company to a great company." What he is seeking to achieve, he said, is "to optimize the asset base that the company has and to really put a good business plan against the assets," specifically land, water resources, plant and equipment, people and intellectual property.
Sun World "has been through so much" over the past several years "with bankruptcies and new presidents," he said. But "the company is solid and well-financed by the owners," so everything needed is now in place "to create a good environment for people and to energize the company and make it what it should be."
The announcement was made in a June 12 press release following a nationwide search for a candidate to fill the position on a permanent basis. "Sun World's board and management team are delighted with Al's decision to accept the position on a permanent basis," board Chairman Christopher Parker said in the release.
Mr. Vangelos has brought enthusiasm, valuable industry knowledge and strong leadership to the company in the short time he has served as president, the release stated.
At the time of his interim appointment six months ago, Mr. Vangelos was serving as a member of Sun World's board of managers. In a telephone interview with The Produce News Jan. 22, Mr. Parker described Mr. Vangelos as "an extremely capable, competitive, talented, intelligent, experienced chief executive, and Sun World and [Sun World's parent company] Black Diamond are both thrilled that he has stepped in to perform this role."
He replaced Bruce Burton, the company's outgoing president and CEO, who had held the position since July 2005, six months after the acquisition of Sun World by Black Diamond.
Mr. Vangelos has more than 36 years of management experience, including 11 years as president and CEO of Calavo Growers of California and, more recently, as a principal of Novelle Consulting LLC, an international agribusiness-consulting firm.
He has also been president of international diversified business and fresh marketing for Dole; chairman and CEO of BC Hothouse Foods Inc.; a member of the advisory board of Key & Co., investment bankers for food and agriculture companies; and chairman of the Russian Farm Project, a Minnesota-based foreign development program to increase the productivity, profitability and quality of life of Russian farmers and rural communities. Mr. Vangelos received a business administration degree from Washington University and has been active in agribusiness seminars at various universities.
He began serving on the Sun World board of managers in October 2006. In a June 16 interview with The Produce News, Mr. Vangelos said that the nationwide search for a new executive, in which he was not involved, yielded several candidates that were interviewed by the owners "but did not surface anyone that the owners felt comfortable with putting in at this time, so they asked me if I would consider staying on" in a permanent capacity.
During the six months since Mr. Vangelos took the reins of the company on an interim basis, "I guess things had started to settle down," he said. "There was a calming effect. People were feeling good about the direction things were going. Obviously [the owners] were happy with the direction I was taking the company in the time I have been here."
Mr. Vangelos' transition from interim to permanent status "gives me time now to complete some of the redirection of the company that I have started," he said. "It also gives me time to hopefully nurture from within a candidate for this job so that when the time comes, it won't be going to a recruiter again."
Mr. Vangelos' vision for the company, and that of its owners, he said, is to "see Sun World rise again from a good company to a great company." What he is seeking to achieve, he said, is "to optimize the asset base that the company has and to really put a good business plan against the assets," specifically land, water resources, plant and equipment, people and intellectual property.
Sun World "has been through so much" over the past several years "with bankruptcies and new presidents," he said. But "the company is solid and well-financed by the owners," so everything needed is now in place "to create a good environment for people and to energize the company and make it what it should be."
