Dole plc announced the hiring of Scott Ross as senior manager of sales and new business development for Dole Diversified North America.

The Diversified products division of Dole operates the business of Dole’s year-round berries category — including strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries — in addition to other fruit products outside of its core tropical fruits. This year Dole Diversified NA also expanded to offer a 52-week supply program for grapes grown in Chile, Peru and California.  

Ross is a seasoned veteran of the produce industry, joining Dole with more than 25 years

Calavo Growers Inc., a global leader in the avocado and value-added fresh food industries, announced the promotion of Ron Araiza to executive vice president of Calavo Fresh Foods.

In his new role, Araiza will be responsible for leading the Renaissance Food Group and Calavo Foods business segments. Araiza will focus his leadership sights on aligning the RFG and Calavo Foods sales teams, while building synergies between the two divisions to leverage relationships and streamline processes.

“As we continue to build out our One Company vision, we are excited to have the RFG and Calavo Foods teams

Sascha Welz has joined MyLand, a soil health company, as the company's chief operating officer. Welz will oversee the engineering and system design, innovation, algae production, ag science, manufacturing and remote operations teams. Based in Phoenix, he will work directly with Dane Hague, co-founder and president, to provide the platforms needed to bring the MyLand soil health solution to growers globally.    

“Sascha is a trusted leader who consistently delivers results. He embodies our mission, culture, and passion for impact,” said Hague. “Sascha is a team builder. As MyLand accelerates

The Westfalia Fruit Group announced the appointment of Danielle Willems as group communications executive, effective Oct. 1.

Willems is an experienced, culturally adaptable and high-energy communications executive with over 15 years of experience in corporate and business communications, transformation and crisis management. She has built a strong and broad communications career primarily within large scale, complex and international businesses in the chemicals, and now agricultural sectors. Her expertise is a balance between internal and external communications, and she has a clear passion

Albertsons Cos. announced that Sharon McCollam will join the company Sept. 7 as its president and chief financial officer reporting to Vivek Sankaran, Albertsons Cos. CEO. McCollam will succeed Bob Dimond, who will be retiring and will remain with the company as an advisor through February 2022 to ensure a seamless transition.

McCollam retired from Best Buy in 2016 where she served as executive vice president, chief administrative and chief financial officer. She is broadly recognized as the co-pilot of Best Buy’s Renew Blue transformation, which has been regarded as one of the foremost omni

Paul Driscoll has joined North Bay Produce as the director of business development in Canada.

Driscoll has been in the industry for 25 years and is passionate about fresh produce. He brings a great understanding of the many challenges to execute in the Canadian marketplace, experience working with producers around the world, and a continuous focus on taste, innovation and product development.

“Paul is a leader in the produce industry in Canada and we know he will be a great asset to our business. Aside from that, Paul is a great person and we are happy to have him onboard,” said Nick