Bruce Peterson is Naturipe President and CEO

Wal-Mart may be struggling, but Bruce Peterson is doing just fine. Here is the news release announcing Peterson's new position at Naturipe Farms:

Naturipe Farms Announces Bruce Peterson As Its New President and CEO

August 16, 2007, Naples Florida – Edmundo Ruiz, Chairman of the Board of Naturipe Farms LLC, announced today that Bruce Peterson has joined the company as President and Chief Executive Officer. Peterson is a 37 year veteran of the produce industry, most recently president of Peterson Insights, Inc. Prior to that, Peterson spent fifteen years at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. where he successfully launched and built the perishable foods division. When he retired from Wal-Mart in March 2007, Bruce held the position of Senior Vice President of Perishables.

“The Board of Directors and principals of Naturipe Farms are excited that Bruce has joined our company. He brings a unique perspective to our organization, and will help us move the company to the next level of our development,” said Mr. Ruiz.

“I am thrilled to be joining Naturipe Farms. They have built a very special organization that has some unique characteristics to it. I believe there is a tremendous opportunity to expand their business model to other applications, and I look forward to helping develop the company to realize its full potential,” stated Bruce Peterson.

John Shelford, president of Naturipe Farms LLC since the partnership was formed in 2000, will be stepping away from the company. Shelford commented “I have been honored and proud to be associated with such a progressive company and an exciting industry. I am pleased and support Bruce as he takes the leadership of Naturipe Farms.” Edmundo Ruiz commented that John Shelford has been a key asset for Naturipe Farms, helping the company to become a leader in the berry category.



TK: The Packer will no doubt have a chance to cover this story in detail this week, but I recall one conversation with Bruce Peterson in Kansas City in January 2006 (link here is excerpt from interview with Peterson with Beth Ashby and myself) where he specifically mentioned how he successfully challenged Wal-Mart stores to raise the bar for berry sales in a particular year. Peterson knows what it takes to deliver the goods to a retailer, whether that retailer is big box or small town. We look forward to hearing more about Peterson's vision for Naturipe and also are keenly interested in the plans John Shelford has. Shelford's enthusiasm for the industry and upbeat leadership style will serve him well for his next challenge. Here are a couple of previous posts about Bruce Peterson,

http://freshtalk.blogspot.com/2007/04/weekend-rewind-peterson-reflects.html
http://freshtalk.blogspot.com/2007/02/bruce-peterson-resigned.html