Splendid by Porvenir has hired Cindy Swanberg Schwing as its vice president of marketing for the company. Schwing will concentrate on all aspects of marketing, with efforts closely connected and coordinated with retail sales. Such a strong marketing and sales strategy is believed to further strengthen the Splendid and Tropic Star brands with Splendid’s full line of products.

Most recently, Schwing handled the West Coast region for the National Mango Board as a retail consultant. She was instrumental in bringing aboard many new clients known for movement of mangos.

With a varied background

Gini Richards has joined the Monterey Mushrooms sales team. She brings over 18 years of account management experience. Richards is no stranger to the Florida and Puerto Rico markets, where she previously served as Sunkist Growers' strategic account manager for those regions. Richards will manage fresh mushroom sales for both retail and foodservice business in the Southeast region.

In this role, Richards will be responsible for the sales of Baby Bellas, Portabellas and white mushrooms grown, packed and shipped from the company's farm in Zellwood, FL.

“Gini navigates easily in the fast-paced

The SF Market, home to 26 of San Francisco’s merchant businesses, has named Virginia Hines as its new board president and added three new board members.

“We are excited to welcome new voices and talent to our board," said Michael Janis, general manager and executive director for The SF Market. "In addition to their essential governance role, The SF Market board contributes invaluable expertise and perspective to help advance our strategic priorities. These volunteers are critical to our work providing the food infrastructure, programs, and relationships that help hundreds of farmers, Bay Area

Henry Lee Giclas III, who retired two years ago after a career of unflinching devotion to the betterment of the produce industry, died on Friday, Aug. 5, after a short battle with cancer.

Mr. Giclas, who spent the entirety of his produce industry career with Western Growers, was born in Socorro, NM, in 1959 and retired in 2020 in nearby Albuquerque. In between, he lived an adventurous life that took him around the world and through several professions.

He was well known in the produce industry where he worked for Western Growers for 30 years, with much of the career being at the forefront of

Crystal Valley Foods welcomed Philip Rodriguez back to its team. Rodriguez began his career in produce with Crystal Valley Foods in 2017 as a sales and procurement liaison and has rejoined the company as business development manager.

Rodriguez was most recently with Hello Fresh as a field specialist, where he worked with operations, packaging and a variety of growing partners to improve efficiencies throughout the company’s supply chain. He started with Hello Fresh as a strategic sourcing manager, helping to source a variety of products for the popular meal kits.

“We are thrilled to have

Calavo Growers Inc. named Helen Kurtz as its senior vice president and general manager of Calavo Prepared, the company’s prepared foods segment.

Kurtz is a veteran of the food industry with more than 25 years of experience, primarily with General Mills Inc. and, most recently, serving as senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Foster Farms. There, she led the poultry business and orchestrated its sale to private equity. At General Mills, Kurtz led a number of brands, including Betty Crocker, Chex Mix and Fruit Snacks and served as vice president of Yoplait.

In April, Calavo