SANTA PAULA, CA - The might of our industry knows no bounds, as companies continue to buckle in for expansion and growth. This time around, it’s Calavo Growers that is ratcheting up its expansion in the form of executive promotions.
Robert Wedin, who joined Calavo in 1973, has been promoted to Executive Vice President of Sales. He has served as Vice President of Sales and Fresh Marketing since 1993. Throughout his career, Wedin has also served as a Director of the California Avocado Commission and is currently a Board and Executive Committee Member of Producesupply.org, a consortium of leading produce suppliers who are working to facilitate e-commerce adoption in the produce supply chain, a press release noted.
“Calavo is fortunate to have an executive of Rob’s caliber, with his deep knowledge of our business and the industry. Over his many years of leadership at Calavo, Rob has delivered a strong record of business growth, developed new organizational capabilities, and cultivated strategic customer relationships,” said James E. Gibson, Chief Executive Officer.
Mark Lodge has also been promoted to Chief Operations Officer, where he will be responsible for overseeing all of Calavo’s production facilities in the U.S. and Mexico. Lodge joined Calavo in 2019 as Executive Vice President of RFG Business Operations, following 25 years leading large scale manufacturing and logistics businesses. He served most recently as Executive Vice President at Revolution Foods, supplying all-natural school meals across the U.S.
Prior to that, he was President at True Fresh HPP and True Food Innovations, and was instrumental in establishing the Fresh & Easy manufacturing business in the U.S. for Tesco.
“Mark has brought his expertise in foodservice innovation to our operations and has demonstrated his capability as a business leader in evolving and strengthening our global supply chain,” said Gibson. "These promotions recognize the impact of Rob and Mark’s outstanding leadership in their respective roles. They will continue to work closely with me and the rest of the executive team to drive the success of our company.”
Congratulations to the Calavo team and to Mark and Robert for their new roles!
