After more than 30 years in the citrus industry and nearly 11 years at Sunkist, Dave Pott, Sunkist Director of Export Sales, will retire at the end of this year. Pott’s position will be assumed by Ray Mizutani, who joined Sunkist in 2011 and has worked in the export department focusing on the Korean market. Prior to Sunkist, Mizutani worked for Nishimoto Trading procuring California citrus for the Japanese and Chinese markets.
“Dave has been a key contributor to Sunkist’s export sales division, managing relationships with importers and exporters. We will miss him,” said Kevin Fiori, Sunkist’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Working closely with Dave during his time at Sunkist, Ray has gained the respect of customers, the shipper community and his colleagues within our organization. We feel fortunate to have him leading the export team moving forward.”
Sunkist is also promoting Jeff Gaston to Director of Western Sales to oversee accounts in the Western region from the cooperative’s headquarters in Valencia. Gaston has been with Sunkist for 16 years, previously working from Vancouver, B.C.
“Jeff has been an integral part of our sales team for many years, and we are pleased to be promoting him to a leadership position to focus on growth in the Western region,” added Fiori.
Sunkist is also making positive changes to its varietal management team with the addition of Terri Mouton. Mouton recently joined the cooperative as Director of Varietal Sales, focusing on the mandarin, tangerine and tangelo categories.
“Easy peel varieties are in high demand, and we are putting a dedicated team in place at Sunkist to oversee and grow this important category,” said Fiori. “Terri understands the challenges of the produce market and has a proven track record in business development, sales and marketing strategy. We are excited to have her onboard to help take Sunkist to the next level as we move forward with our mandarin business.”