Ten Acre Marketing, a full-service agricultural marketing firm, expanded its team, tapping fresh produce marketing veteran Mary Coppola Heslep. She joins Ten Acre Marketing as senior vice president of creative after leading the communication and marketing function for United Fresh Produce Association over the past seven years.

At United Fresh, Coppola Heslep was a key member of the executive team providing strategic direction to advance the association and the needs of members. She’s best known for the creation of BrandStorm, an annual produce industry  marketing event, developed for produce

Louis Rakoczy has joined Ocean Mist Farms as chief finance officer and Kevin Healy has joined the leading grower and marketer of fresh artichokes as its grower relations manager.

As CFO, Rakoczy will oversee the accounting, finance and information technology departments to include risk management and tax and audit practices. Prior to joining Ocean Mist Farms, Rakoczy spent 25 years in finance and was previously senior vice president of finance with Curation Foods/Landec Corp. Rakoczy graduated with a degree in math and operations research with a specialization in computing from the University

The Ontario Produce Marketing Association announced the appointment of seven new board members at its Annual General Meeting held June 9. The newly elected directors will serve three-year terms from 2021 to 2024.

The directors joining the OPMA’s board are Ryan Goad from Loblaw Cos.; Dan Tukendorf from the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association; Madison Hopper from Equifruit; Andrew George from EarthFresh Farms; Marc Wall from Sandy Shore Farms; Amanda Knauff from Taylor Farms; and Matthew Quiring from Nature Fresh Farms.

Goad is the senior category director of fresh procurement at

Category Partners has promoted Jashon Newlun to the position of senior analyst. Newlun originally joined the Category Partners team last year as an analyst focused on the core client deliverables, including retail sales analysis, consumer research analytics and data reporting platform (CP Conduit) support.

Newlun’s role will grow to cover additional direct client support and consulting, machine learning capabilities and the mentoring and oversight of the Category Partners analytics team.

“It goes without saying, as 2020 began to unfold, it was anybody’s guess as to how the industry would be

Ocean Mist Farms CEO and President Joe Pezzini will step down from this role effective June 30. He has been a consistent face and voice of this nearly 100-year-old brand for 21 years, and his legacy will be evident as the company moves forward toward its centennial celebration.

“There is never a good time to make a change of this magnitude," said Pezzini. "Ocean Mist Farms will celebrate its centennial in 2024. In that long and rich history, we have grown from very humble beginnings in 1924 to a full-service year-round supplier of the finest artichokes and fresh produce. I am proud to have

Kwik Lok Corp., headquartered in Yakima, WA, has created a new position, director of global supply chain, to oversee strategic supply chain management with a focus on ethical procurement and sustainability.  Maggie Brown, a seasoned procurement professional has accepted the role and will report to Kwik Lok's chief operating officer, Jeff Scott, at Kwik Lok’s headquarters.

“By leveraging our global assets and elevating our supply management role to oversee all procurement operations, Kwik Lok will be in a better position to serve our customers and assure that our procurement strategies reflect