Stephen J. Barnard founded Mission Produce in 1983 and currently serves as our Executive Chairman of the Board. Mr. Barnard also serves as a member of the Board of Directors, a role he has held since the Company was founded. Prior to founding Mission Produce, Mr. Barnard worked in the lettuce and avocado divisions of Santa Clara Produce, Inc. Mr. Barnard previously served as Chairman of the Produce Marketing Association (PMA), Chairman of the Western Growers Association, a director of the California Avocado Commission, and a director of Sunkist Growers. He currently serves as a director for the Cal Poly Foundation.
Mr. Barnard received a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural business management from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
Mr. Barnard’s qualifications to serve on the Board of Directors include his deep and thorough knowledge of all aspects of our business and industry, his effective leadership and management skills, and his long-tenured service in senior roles with key industry groups.
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.
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.
Tony Sarsam was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2023. Since 2020, Mr. Sarsam has held the position of CEO of SpartanNash (NASDAQ: SPTN), a global food distribution and retail grocery company. Throughout his career, which spans nearly four decades in the food industry, Mr. Sarsam has served in various executive leadership roles, including CEO of Borden Dairy Company, CEO of Ready Pac Foods, President of the Nestlé USA Direct Store Delivery Company, and Group Vice President of Go-to-Market Strategy at PepsiCo. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors at SpartanNash, Mr. Sarsam serves as Chairman of the SpartanNash Foundation and Vice Chair of the Food Industry Association.
Mr. Sarsam holds a Bachelor of Science, Engineering degree in Chemical Engineering from Arizona State University and a Master of Science in Management from Stanford University.
Mr. Sarsam’s qualifications to serve on the Board of Directors include his extensive leadership experience in the food industry, namely in CEO roles at both public and private companies, as well as public company board experience.
Mr. Sims was appointed to the Board of Directors in May 2025. He served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Trugreen, a residential and commercial lawn care company, from February 2019 until his retirement in February 2023. He has served as a Senior Advisor to Trugreen since his retirement. Prior to joining Trugreen, Mr. Sims served as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of AdvancePierre Foods Holdings, Inc., a producer and distributor of proteins and ready-to-eat sandwiches, from 2012 until its acquisition by Tyson Foods, Inc., in 2017. Prior to joining AdvancePierre Foods, Mr. Sims served in roles of increasing responsibility at Chiquita Brands International Inc., a leading international marketer and distributor of bananas, pineapples, and packaged salads, from 1988 to 2012, most recently serving as the company’s Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 2009 to 2012. Mr. Sims has served on the Board of Directors of Hain Celestial Group (NASDAQ: HAIN), a leading health and wellness company with products across snacks, baby, beverages, meal components, and personal care, since October 2019 and serves as the Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Compensation Committee and the Strategy Committee. Since April 2023, Mr. Sims has also served as a director for Winland Foods, Inc., a privately held global manufacturer of private label and branded foods for retail and co-pack customers in the meal preparation category. Mr. Sims holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Indiana University.
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.
Ms. Flanagan was appointed to the Board of Directors in June 2025. She was the former Chief Executive Officer and member of the board of directors of Ripple Foods, a leader in branded plant-based dairy alternatives, from October 2019 to January 2025. Prior to Ripple Foods, Ms. Flanagan was the Chief Executive Officer of Foster Farms, the largest branded poultry producer in the western United States, from August 2016 to February 2019. Prior to Foster Farms, Ms. Flanagan held several leadership roles at ConAgra Foods, PepsiCo, and General Mills, and began her career as an engineer at Saturn Corporation.
Ms. Flanagan has served on the board of directors of Performance Food Group (NYSE:PFGC), one of the largest distributors of food and broadline products to foodservice and convenience store channels, since September 2021, and currently serves on the Audit/Finance committee and Technology/Cybersecurity committee. Ms. Flanagan previously served on the board of directors of TopGolf Callaway Brands (NYSE:MODG), the leading brand of golf equipment and entertainment, from November 2018 to May 2025, where she served on the Compensation Committee. Additionally, Ms. Flanagan previously served on the board of directors of Core-Mark International, a distributor to the convenience store channel, from August 2016 to September 2021, where she was the chair of the Nominating Governance Committee and served on the Compensation Committee.
Ms. Flanagan holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and an engineering undergraduate degree from Case Western Reserve University in 1990. She also holds a certificate for Accountability and Effectiveness in the Boardroom from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
Douglas M. Stone was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2025. From 2018 to 2024, Mr. Stone served as President of AgriBusiness at J.R. Simplot Company, where he oversaw strategic growth and operational excellence across global markets. Throughout his career in the agribusiness industry, Mr. Stone has held various executive leadership roles, including Vice President of Wholesale Sales at J.R. Simplot Company, President and CEO of Consolidated Sourcing Solutions, and Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Terra Industries Inc. Mr. Stone serves on Mission Produce's Compensation Committee.
Mr. Stone holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of South Dakota and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Iowa.
Kathleen Holmgren was appointed to the Board of Directors in May 2026. Ms. Holmgren has been a Principal at Sage Advice Partners, a management consulting firm specializing in the high‑technology and green‑technology markets, since 2008. Ms. Holmgren previously served as Chief Operating Officer of Automation Anywhere, Inc., a privately held global software company providing an AI‑powered platform for end‑to‑end process automation, from March 2013 through August 2015, and subsequently served as its Chief Officer – Future Workforce until March 2018. Prior to Automation Anywhere, Inc., Ms. Holmgren served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Mendocino Software, a privately held enterprise‑class application data developer, from November 2007 to March 2008. Prior to November 2007, Ms. Holmgren spent more than 20 years at Sun Microsystems, Inc., a publicly held enterprise software company acquired by Oracle Corporation in 2010, where she held increasingly senior leadership roles.
From January 2017 until our acquisition of Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVGW), Ms. Holmgren served on the board of directors of Calavo Growers, Inc., a publicly traded food and distribution company. During that period, she served as Chairman of the Board and served on the Audit and Compensation Committees. Ms. Holmgren has served on the board of directors of Extreme Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXTR) since November 2015, where she serves on the Nominating and Governance, Audit, and Compensation Committees, and has served on the board of directors of Automation Anywhere, Inc., a privately held company, since March 2013. From May 2017 through January 2021, Ms. Holmgren served on the board of directors of Fresh Realm, LLC, a privately held delivery and business platform for the perishable food industry. Since June 2021, Ms. Holmgren has served as an advisor to Circle Security, a cybersecurity platform built on decentralized cryptographic architecture.
Ms. Holmgren holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from California Polytechnic State University and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In November 2021, she received the Top 100 Director Award from the National Association of Corporate Directors.