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March 7, 2002, Sherman Oaks, Calif…..Sunkist, focusing on the needs of its customers and the changing and consolidating marketplace, is restructuring its top management to capture operational efficiencies while providing more and better market-focused service. The realignment is due, in part, to the recent retirement of three longtime Sunkist Executives, Vice President International Sales Dick Mead, Vice President Marketing Gene Sass, and Vice President Finance and Administration Bud Flach. "These three men each devoted more than 30 years to the growth of Sunkist and each contributed a great deal to our success," said President and CEO Jeff Gargiulo. "They are all three also well recognized throughout the industry as experts in their fields and served with many organizations working toward the betterment of the produce industry and of cooperatives. "They will be missed,' said Gargiulo, "but as part of their legacy, they have left their responsibilities in very capable hands." The top management of Sunkist, he said, has now been divided into three teams -- marketing, operations and corporate/legal - each lead by talented, experienced people. The marketing team is comprised of Fresh Fruit Domestic Marketing headed by John McGuigan, Fresh Fruit Export Marketing headed by Russ Hanlin, Marketing and Sales Promotions headed by Robert Verloop, and Licensing and International Development headed by Ashok Patel. McGuigan joined Sunkist in 1983 as District Sales Office Manager and rose through the ranks, first as Director of one of Sunkist's five Regional Sales Divisions and then to head the entire Domestic Sales area. He will continue in his current duties in Fresh Fruit Domestic Sales. Hanlin, who joined Sunkist in 1982 as Assistant Sales Promotion Manager, has served as Manager of Fresh Fruit Sales Administration, Manager of Domestic Sales Operations and then Director of International Sales. He now assumes the export sales responsibilities handled by Dick Mead. Patel joined Sunkist in 1982, serving in various positions in the Trademark Licensing and Processed Products division until his promotion to Director of Trademark Licensing responsible for the management of the global Sunkist Trademark Licensing program. He will continue in that capacity as well as with his recently expanded responsibilities in International Development. Verloop joined Sunkist as the Director of Sales Promotion in 2001 to develop and implement promotional programs. Though new to Sunkist, Verloop has a strong background in agricultural promotion and marketing from his work as Vice President of the California Avocado Commission overseeing retail marketing and merchandising, consumer and trade advertising and promotions. Verloop takes over the marketing responsibilities previously handled by Gene Sass. The operations team, which reports directly to Sunkist's newly appointed Chief Operating Officer Jim Padden, currently consists of Processed Products and Research and Technical Services, Finance, Human Resources and Sales Operations (quality control and transportation.) This team will also address new strategies such as value-added products, forward warehousing and global sourcing. Padden, whose appointment was effective March 1, is charged with streamlining the operation of the cooperative, focusing on implementing efficiencies and customer-focused initiatives. "Our sales and marketing team will provide global selling and marketing expertise for Sunkist products, and for the Sunkist brand," said Gargiulo, "while our operations group will focus on the day-to-day functions of the organization." The third group, corporate relations and legal services, headed by Mike Wootton and Tom Moore, respectively, will stand alone and report directly to Gargiulo while the marketing team will report to both the CEO and the COO. "Sunkist is repositioning to take full advantage of our many strengths," said Gargiulo. "Our large volume, our high quality, our great brand name and our ability to bundle the services and promotions necessary to supply the services and the expertise that today's market demands, place us in an excellent competitive position. Throughout Sunkist, our repositioning is an ongoing process as we continue to find the most effective and efficient ways to do business." # # # Sunkist Growers is the world's oldest and largest citrus marketing cooperative, owned by and operated for 6,000 citrus growers in California and Arizona. Its fresh and processed citrus products are marketed worldwide.
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