Board of Directors

Stephen W. Bershad was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2012 and has served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors since 2020. Mr. Bershad currently serves as the Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors of Novanta Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVT), a manufacturer of highly engineered proprietary components sold to medical and advanced technology equipment manufacturers. Mr. Bershad served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Axsys Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AXYS), a manufacturer of surveillance and imaging equipment, from 1986 until 2009. Previously, he was a Managing Director of Lehman Brothers, Inc., an investment banking firm, and its predecessor firms, where he held a series of senior management positions in private equity and mergers and acquisitions. From 2013 to 2018, Mr. Bershad was Chairman of the Board of Directors of EMCOR Group (NYSE:EME), a Fortune 500 leader in mechanical and electrical construction, energy infrastructure and facilities services for a diverse range of businesses. Mr. Bershad is also an avocado grower in the Southern California area and has extensive experience in the avocado and lemon industry.

Mr. Bershad received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Southern California and a Juris Doctorate from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Mr. Bershad’s qualifications to serve on the Board of Directors include his substantial business, investment banking, and board and management experience with both public and private companies, including serving as Chairman of the board of directors of several public corporations.

Stephen A. Beebe was appointed to the Board of Directors in 1995 and served as Chairman of our Board of Directors from 2003 until 2020. From 1993 until his retirement in 2002, Mr. Beebe served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the J.R. Simplot Company, one of the largest privately held diversified agribusiness companies in the United States. He guided the J.R. Simplot Company through expansions in Canada, Mexico, Australia, China and Europe. Mr. Beebe continues to serve as a director for the J.R. Simplot Company, where he is a member of the Audit Committee. Mr. Beebe is also a co-manager of JRS Properties 111, which is a Simplot family partnership. He is a member of the executive committee of the United States Golf Association and chairs the Audit Committee and Equipment Standards Committee.

Mr. Beebe received a Juris Doctorate from the University of Idaho, is a member of the Idaho Bar Association (retired) and is a graduate of the Stanford University Executive Program. In 2002, Mr. Beebe was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Agriculture Science from the University of Idaho.

Mr. Beebe’s qualifications to serve on the Board of Directors include his substantial business experience in the agriculture sector and his extensive management and leadership experience serving as a chief executive officer of a global agribusiness company.

Luis A. Gonzalez was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2011. Mr. Gonzalez is a private investor in real estate and other ventures. Previously, Mr. Gonzalez founded Austral Group S.A., Peru, which was the second largest fishing and marine based food producer in Peru. Mr. Gonzalez also founded Camposol S.A., the leading agroindustrial company in Peru and the largest exporter of asparagus in the world. Mr. Gonzalez also co-founded Grupo Arato in 2011, which the Company acquired in 2018. Previously, Mr. Gonzalez also served as a director of our wholly-owned Peruvian subsidiaries – Grupo Arato Holding S.A.C., Beggie Peru S.A., Arato Peru S.A., Inversiones Agricolas Olmos S.A.C., and Avocado Packing Company S.A.C. In 2007, Mr. Gonzalez was honored with the “Comendador por Servicios Distinguidos” medal by the President of Peru for his contributions to the country.

Mr. Gonzalez studied mechanical engineering at Saarbrücken Fachhochschule in Germany.

Mr. Gonzalez’s qualifications to serve on the Board of Directors include his extensive business and leadership experience in the avocado and agroindustrial industries and his first-hand knowledge of avocado farming and packing operations in Peru.

Bonnie C. Lind was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2020. Ms. Lind is the retired Senior Vice President, CFO and Treasurer of Neenah, Inc., (NASDAQ: NP), a publicly traded technical specialties and fine paper company, a position she held from June 2004 to May 2020. Prior to that, Ms. Lind held a variety of increasingly senior financial and operations positions with Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ: KMB), a manufacturer of personal care, consumer tissue and health care products, from 1982 until 2004. She has been a member of the Board of Directors of Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE: HUBB) since January 2019 where she serves on the Audit and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees. Beginning in January 2022, she joined the Board of Directors of a private timberlands company, Tamarack Holdings LLC, where she is Chairman of the Audit Committee. She was previously a director at U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SLCA), a global industrial minerals and logistics leader, from 2019 to 2021 where she served on the Audit and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees. She was also previously a director at Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE: FSS), a world leader in manufacturing lightbars, beacons, warning lights, and backup alarms/cameras, from 2014 to 2018, where she served on the Nominating and Governance Committee and the Audit Committee. She also served as a director of Empire District Electric Company (NYSE: EDE), an investor-owned utility providing electric, natural gas, and water service, from 2009 to 2017 and was a member of the Audit Committee and Chairman of its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

Ms. Lind holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (Finance) with honors from the University of Georgia.

Ms. Lind’s qualifications to serve on the Board of Directors include her experience as the chief financial officer of a public company, her financial acumen and financial expertise, her public and private company board experience, as well as her decades of senior financial and operations positions for public and private companies across a wide variety of industries.

Jay A. Pack was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2008. Mr. Pack is the former owner of Standard Fruit and Vegetable, an integrated re-packer, logistics, and value-added produce company, which was sold to Del Monte in 2003. He currently serves on the boards of Coastal Sunbelt Produce, a foodservice distributor serving the Mid-Atlantic states, and Misionero, a leading vegetable grower. Previously, Mr. Pack was a director of Earthbound Farm and Combs Produce. He has also previously served as a trustee of Sarah Lawrence College, a board member of the Produce Marketing Association (PMA), Chairman of the PMA Foodservice Division, and as President of the North Texas Food Bank.

Mr. Pack received a Bachelor of Science degree from Boston University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Southern Methodist University.

Mr. Pack’s qualifications to serve on the Board of Directors include his broad knowledge of the produce industry and his extensive business and leadership experience with various produce companies and agricultural industry groups.

Linda B. Segre was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2020. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Callaway Golf Company (NYSE: ELY) where she is chair of the Compensation and Management Succession Committee and a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Pecan Grove Farms and Schwab Charitable Fund. From 2009 until 2016 she was the Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and People Officer at Diamond Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND). Before joining Diamond Foods, Ms. Segre served as Managing Director of Google.org and was previously the Vice President and Managing Director of The Boston Consulting Group’s San Francisco Office.

Ms. Segre holds a degree in economics with academic distinction from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Ms. Segre’s qualifications to serve on the Board of Directors include her public and private company board experience and extensive management experience serving in key leadership roles, including as chief people officer, across a variety of sectors, including the food industry.

Bruce C. Taylor was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2001. Mr. Taylor founded Taylor Fresh Foods, a multi-billion dollar producer of salads, fresh vegetables, and healthy fresh food, in 1995 and serves as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. 

Mr. Taylor received a Bachelor of Science degree (Business) and a Bachelor of Arts degree (Development Studies) from the University of California Berkeley and a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard University.

Mr. Taylor’s qualifications to serve on the Board of Directors include his extensive business and industry knowledge and his long tenured leadership and management experience in the agriculture and farming sectors at Taylor Fresh Foods.

Shaunte Mears-Watkins was appointed to the Board of Directors in December 2021. Ms. Mears-Watkins has served as the Chief Commercial Officer of Clif Bar & Company, a leading maker of energy and nutrition foods, since June 2021. Previously, Ms. Mears-Watkins held increasingly senior roles in marketing, sales, and strategy at The Clorox Company (NYSE: CLX), a global manufacturer and marketer of household goods, food, pet care, and commercial cleaning products, from 2005 to 2008 and again from 2009 to 2021. From 2008 to 2009, Ms. Mears-Watkins was a Global Category Manager at Bare Escentuals Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ: BARE), a retail cosmetics and personal care company.  Ms. Mears-Watkins has served on the board of the Alameda County Community Food Bank since November 2021.

Ms. Mears-Watkins received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School.

Ms. Mears-Watkins’ qualifications to serve on the Board of Directors include her broad commercial and marketing experience in the food and consumer products industries and her expertise in global branding and strategy.