The Southeast Produce Council has officially appointed Tim Graas of Associated Wholesale Grocers as its new board of directors chairman for 2022-23. The induction of the council’s chairman was made Sept. 23 during the Chairman’s Dinner Dance held at SEPC’s recent Southern Innovations conference in Nashville, TN.

Graas’s career started at the age of 16 on the retail side of the grocery industry. After spending 23 years at retail, he moved to the procurement side in 2005 where he has been with Associated Wholesale Grocers ever since. Starting as a produce specialist, he has progressed to his

The National Mango Board hired Angie Thomas as a retail consultant to serve West Coast markets. Thomas will work alongside retailers of all sizes to support marketing and merchandising of mango in store.

Thomas brings with her a wealth of experience with over 15 years of strategic planning, sales management, data analytics and marketing experience within the produce industry. She has worked on both the retail and grower sides, including supply chain.

Thomas comes to the National Mango Board from Oppy and Turners & Growers, where she managed North American sales planning and activation for

The California Avocado Commission board of directors has selected produce veteran Jeff Oberman to become the organization’s new president, effective Oct. 10.

Oberman’s produce industry career has spanned 25 years. From 2020 to the present, he served as vice president of sales and business development for PRO*ACT and was its vice president strategic programs for the prior two years.

From 1997 to 2018, Oberman worked for United Fresh in role of increasing responsibility. For more than half his tenure at United Fresh, he served as vice president of trade relations.

“We are very pleased that

Monterey Mushrooms has revealed the recent expansion of its executive team. As the company continues to grow, it has appointed Mike Stephan to senior director of business development, a role that spans the entire US sales team from California to Florida. 

Stephan previously held the role of western region sales director and prior to that, he was the eastern region sales director. “Mike’s knowledge of our current customer base across the nation and his drive to get to know prospective customers, are sure to help him succeed in his new role,” said Mike O’Brien, vice president of sales &

Jared Bray, recently hired as a sales professional is looking to lead the company into the organic avocado space.

As a veteran in the produce industry, Bray brings with him expertise in the organic avocado market. Bray brings strong customer service skills with promotional planning, food service, and forecasting experience. Jared comes to Awe Sum as an “avo expert,” knowledgeable of the avocado supply chain from seed to store.

Bray comes to Awe Sum Organics from a leading avocado shipper where he worked for four and a half years selling avocados and learning the national and global avocado

Alan Lieberman has joined Southern Specialties as its senior vice president. In this newly created position within the company Lieberman will oversee internal operations and play a leading role in further developing the company’s growth and business strategies.

Lieberman has over 30 years of industry experience, including executive roles in the foodservice, wholesale and export sectors. Most recently he has been consulting within the industry.

“I am looking forward to being part of this dynamic company. Southern Specialties’ solid roster of products, services and customers demonstrates it is