SANTA PAULA, CA - Calavo Growers is tapping into a wealth of industry experience with the appointment of a new leader. Fortifying a critical division, the avocado maven recently appointed previous Amazon executive Mariela Matute as its new Chief Financial Officer, effective October 11.
“I am thrilled to step into the CFO role at Calavo and to help the company execute its strategic plan, accelerate its profitable growth, and deliver shareholder value,” Matute said. “I look forward to partnering with the entire Calavo team to build on the company’s strong foundation.”
Before joining Calavo’s executive ring, Matute held the position of Director and Chief Financial Officer for Amazon Business, the business-to-business (B2B) online procurement division of Amazon. During her time with the retail giant, she managed a team of 70 professionals across controllership, financial planning, pricing analytics, sales and operations planning, tech roadmap, and payments, according to a press release. Matute also served as Director of Finance and Operations for the company’s Amazon Fresh division.
Prior to her tenure with Amazon, Matute spearheaded growth for several other companies, including Driscoll’s, where she served as Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer, overseeing treasury, finance, IT, real estate, and procurement. Before working with Driscoll’s, Matute also held financial leadership positions at The Chia Company, Henkel Corp., Alcoa Corporation, Pitney Bowes, and Procter & Gamble, where she began her career in Latin America. Matute has a BSc in industrial engineering from Universidad Catolica Andres Bello (Venezuela) and an MBA from the University of Michigan.
“We are excited to welcome Mariela Matute as an integral member of our management team,” Steven Hollister, interim Chief Executive Officer of Calavo Growers, added. “Mariela has an impressive combination of financial expertise and relevant industry background, including food production and agriculture, which make her highly qualified to assume the role of CFO. She is a proven senior financial leader, joining us most recently from her role as CFO of the B2B division of Amazon. In addition, she also has deep experience and exposure to Mexico and Latin America, having served as CFO of Driscoll’s Americas region, which spanned from Canada to Chile. Her broad skill set will benefit the company and all its many stakeholders.”
Matute will be stepping in for Farha Aslam, who has been serving as interim CFO.
“I want to thank Farha Aslam for having served as interim CFO and for making this transition such a smooth one,” J. Link Leavens said on behalf of the Board of Directors. “We look forward to her many contributions now that she has returned to her role as Independent Director.”
Congratulations to Mariela Matute on an already successful career and this pivotal next step!
