The Southeast Produce Council announced this year’s SEPC Member Scholarship recipients. It awarded 59 scholarships ($59,000) in 2022 thanks to the dedication of its members.

Scholarships are awarded to applicants who meet the application criteria of having a parent or grandparent who is a corporate member in good standing with the SEPC and has personally attended at least one SEPC event within the last 12 months. Additionally, applicants must be enrolled as a full-time student with a minimum of 12 semester hours. Applicants are then able to submit the necessary paperwork, including an essay

Ronald Bown, the face of the Chilean fruit industry for more than three decades, is transitioning to retirement. Following a long and detailed selection process, the board of directors of the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association A.G. appointed Iván Marambio Castaño as the new chairman of the ASOEX board.  

Bown has served at the helm of ASOEX, and under his leadership and guidance Chile has become one of the world’s leading fresh fruit exporters.  Chile supplies more than 100 global markets with grapes, cherries, apples, blueberries, citrus, stone fruit, pears, kiwifruit and more.

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Joe Vargas has been hired as the director of business intelligence for the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council and North American Blueberry Council. In this newly created role, Vargas is responsible for developing and leading a best-in-class data and insights program for the blueberry industry.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Joe to the team and can’t wait for him to lend his expertise to providing the blueberry industry with the data insights that are needed today to make smart business decisions,” said USHBC and NABC President Kasey Cronquist. “His experience and strong communications skills make

After three-and-a-half decades with Oppy, Vice President of Canadian Sales Walt Breeden is off on his next adventure: retirement.

Joining Oppy from iconic Vancouver-based retailer Woodward’s to sell California-grown produce to western Canadian customers in 1987, Breeden’s role grew as he added New Zealand apples, pears, kiwifruit and other items to his sales portfolio. He was promoted to Vancouver sales manager in 1997 and went on to open Oppy’s Calgary and Toronto offices, enhancing its presence across Canada.

“Throughout his career, Walt put his heart into our Canadian business,” said

United Natural Foods Inc. Chief Operating Officer Eric Dorne will retire from the company effective Oct. 29. Dorne has spent 46 years in the grocery industry and the past 11 years in senior leadership roles at UNFI. He will continue to oversee UNFI’s operations and fulfillment network, as well as lead information technology through his retirement date, working closely with both his direct reports and the senior leadership team to ensure a smooth transition.

Dorne helped UNFI navigate significant growth and change, serving as head of the integration team for the acquisition of Supervalu Inc

Walmart Canada announced four recent senior executive leadership changes as part of its transformation journey to transform the customer experience for millions of customers in-store and online. Nabeela Ixtabalan has been named chief operations officer; Sam Wankowski has been named chief merchandising officer; Laurent Duray has been named chief E-commerce officer; and John Bayliss is now executive vice president, transformation officer.

“Walmart is known for its excellent people. I am extremely proud and excited for what Nabeela, Sam, Laurent and John will offer our customers as we continue