Brian Miller leaves Gourmet Trading for Mission Produce
Miller’s passion for the produce industry started early in life. He grew up in the business and experienced the spectrum of operations in all facets of the industry. Miller believes in the development of teams, fostering a culture of accountability and celebrating achievements.
At Gourmet Trading Company, Brian progressed from a position in Sales in 2000,
to the Vice President of Sales & Marketing, and finally to President and CEO of the
company. After graduating from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Brian joined the
Oppenheimer Company as a salesman prior to moving to Gourmet.
Mission’s President & CEO, Steve Barnard, said, “Brian is highly driven and goal oriented. He has South American, Asian and European experience, which will add great value to Mission’s future.
“This is the highest position we have ever filled here at Mission,” said company President & CEO, Steve Barnard. Miller will be filling the position held by Ross Wileman, who will be moving into an area where he will lead Mission’s special initiatives. Wileman, the current Senior VP with Mission Sales & Marketing has been with the company for 31 years. Barnard added, “Ross will be involved with specific company initiatives which include food safety, global quality control and standardization from a sales point of view. Ross will also continue with industry affairs.”
Mission has operations in the U.S., Mexico, Chile, Peru, Canada and The Netherlands as well as eight value-added Ripe Centers across North America. A strong case can be made that Mission is now the largest supplier of avocados in the world.
Mission is currently involved with major construction projects in California and Peru where two new packing plants are nearing completion. Both facilities are state-of-the-art, energy efficient and will be the largest, most modern packing facilities in the world. The company is also growing its own avocados in Peru where significant planting has taken place over the last 5 years.
Barnard commented, “The avocado category has grown at 10%, compounded annually for 15 straight years, and the numbers are even higher this year. With demand for the fruit at all time highs, sourcing and growing is more important than ever. Concerning our Peruvian operation, we have invested heavily into the production of avocados, transportation and logistics. These moves were all essential in addressing the current demand.”
Mission has also made strong Asian connections and has developed that area into a significant marketplace for avocados. The European market is growing substantially as well, where Mission plans another Ripe Center in Rotterdam in the very near future.
For more information:
William Tarleton
Mission Produce
bill@missionpro.com