SAN CLEMENTE, CA - When you hear her name, your brain sparks with connective ideas: catalyst, maven, pioneer. Not only that, but you think of a lineage of women in business who have met the challenges of the day head-on and made opportunities for each of them. I am talking about Karen Caplan.
“I am here to tell my clients what they need to hear, not what they want to hear,” Karen says to me when she speaks about her new executive coaching venture and vision, Karen Caplan Growth Catalyst. “Too many people in an executive’s life will tell them what they want to hear, which does not provide the fundamental feedback they need for growth or their business’ evolution.”
I learned from Karen that leadership is a hard ladder to climb and a challenging course for development if you do not have the right sounding boards, road map, accountability, focus, and network around you: all aspects of Karen's coaching process.
“Sometimes you need someone who has been in similar shoes as you to see what you cannot see,” Karen says. “We all have blinders. We just need help removing them.”
And, in an industry where every missed detail is a missed opportunity, obtaining as much of a 360-degree view as possible is essential.
Karen’s coaching is a multidimensional paradigm. As a part of assessing whether each fit is right for coaching, Karen will help executive leaders uncover their goals, most significant challenges, and what success looks like for them in six months, 12 months, and 24 months. Karen works solely with top-level executives.
“My style is direct, and I expect a lot out of my clients, and they will get a lot from me,” Karen says. “It is important to give back; this is how I plan to achieve that goal.”
Interested people can book a 30-minute session with Karen here.
During Karen’s coaching, clients will have 90-minute Zoom sessions to ensure they are making progress, with calls in between for those urgent and important issues that come up in a business executive’s role.
The deep-rooted expertise Karen brings to her coaching was built from the ground up. It feels funny to speak to an industry that most likely knows much of Karen’s story, but it feels like a fitting honor.
As the firstborn daughter of the Founder of Frieda’s Specialty Produce, Dr. Frieda Rapoport Caplan, Karen began working with produce at the age of 10.
But before joining Frieda’s in a full-time position, she earned a degree in Agricultural Economics and Business Management from the University of California-Davis. Karen worked in almost every department at the company, from running the warehouse to sales and marketing. Karen moved to the helm at age 30 when she was promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer. In 1990, Karen and her sister, Jackie Caplan Wiggins, purchased the company from their mother, giving it a new momentum and direction, making it one of the world's most well-known specialty produce companies.
In addition, Karen served a three-year term as a Director of the Federal Reserve Bank Los Angeles branch, was the first female Chairperson of the United Fresh Produce Association, and was the first woman President of the Southern California-based Fresh Produce & Floral Council. She was Chair and Vice-Chair of the USDA Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee. She recently completed a six-year term on the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation board, among many other roles. Currently, Karen chairs the Huntley College Advisory Board at Cal Poly Pomona University and is a Global Board Member of the International Women’s Foundation based in Washington, DC.
While she has stepped into an advisory role since Legacy Farms acquired Frieda's Branded Produce, Karen still keeps her finger on the pulse of the industry as only she can. To learn more about Karen’s extensive experience and leadership trajectory, visit her new website, www.karencaplan.com, and tap into all things Karen Caplan.
In addition, Karen has restarted posting her weekly blog, “What’s on Karen’s Plate?” Readers and interested parties can sign up on Karen’s website or via LinkedIn.
One of the mantras Karen lives by is: How you do anything is how you do everything. This is a phrase I deeply admire and live by as well. You can sense Karen’s commitment and intent in all that she does. Each of her choices is very much an echo of her beliefs.
As our tea and coffee cooled and the morning turned to afternoon, I could not help but feel a freedom in Karen. While she is deeply joyful about the life she built at Frieda’s—and the lives she has already helped build—her next path is on her own terms.
And, of course, as Karen does—she gets the chance to give back in new ways.
