H-E-B announced Cathy Harm as regional vice president in central Texas. She leads more than 20,000 employees with responsibilities that include store operations, merchandising, human resources, real estate, public relations, loss prevention, and financial performance. Harm entered the role in early 2020, just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic began. Taking the reins during this tumultuous time, Harm used her deep industry knowledge and steady presence to navigate the crisis, leading 55 stores in central Texas as they continued providing the world class customer service and community support

Produce marketer and former retail buyer/merchandiser Roger Pepperl is retiring after a 40-year career spent elevating the produce experience for shoppers through innovation, branding, and storytelling. Pepperl has spent 20 years as marketing director for Stemilt, a tree fruit leader based in Wenatchee, WA. The development of the Lil Snappers kid-size fruit brand and A Half Mile Closer to the Moon cherries are just a few examples of Pepperl’s success stories while at Stemilt. “Roger never ceases to amaze me with his innovative mind, and ability to create brands and programs that benefit the

Wholesum, Fair Trade certified growers and shippers of organic produce, recently hired Harumi Kuniyoshi, as its director of research and development. While Wholesum counts on a strong R&D team, this is the first time it fills a position for this type of role. The decision further advances Wholesum’s goals of presenting innovative and disruptive products to market and bolsters their role as leaders in organics. In this new role, Kuniyoshi will work to develop new and differentiated products and refine Wholesum’s current offerings by analyzing different varieties that could increase quality and

While the pandemic certainly changed the course of the year, it has not altered Stemilt’s efforts to partner with the Washington Apple Education Foundation to award students of local agriculture families scholarships to pursue their secondary education goals. “Stemilt’s founder and my grandfather, Tom Mathison, knew how important it was to invest into the up and coming generation, so he partnered with WAEF over 25 years ago to ensure students of Stemilt employees and other ag families in the area had the opportunity to earn college degrees,” said West Mathison, Stemilt president. “Today, we

On the cusp of the important season getting under way, Vanguard Direct announced the hiring of new positions in key sales and operations roles at the California and Pennsylvania offices. In total three new employees joined the Vanguard Direct teams bringing a variety of skills and experience in the produce industry. Ethan Williams has joined the Bakersfield, CA, office in the role of senior sales associate. With experience in both traditional produce roles combined with vineyard account management positions, Williams brings over 11 years of sales experience to the Vanguard Direct team. Jordan

Index Fresh announced Debbie Willmann as the director of sales. In her new role, Willmann will help manage the company’s existing domestic and international account base and set target growth goals, while expanding Index Fresh’s customer network. “Debbie’s deep knowledge of the business gathered over three decades allows her to add tremendous value to our customers and the Index Fresh team. She will do a great job and I’m very excited to see her flourish in this new role,” said Steve Roodzant, president and CEO of Index Fresh. She will also support Todd Elder, vice president of sales and