Oppy staff mourns passing of Cal Tribiano

Calvin Tribiano, a longtime sales executive at Vancouver, British Columbia-based The Oppenheimer Group, passed away on May 6 after a brief illness. He was 71.

Tribiano joined the company’s East Coast sales team in 1988, according to a news release.

Hailing from Brooklyn, N.Y., Tribiano earned a business administration degree at Wagner College before embarking on his produce career.

“Cal loved the produce life and lived it to its fullest,” John Anderson, chairman, CEO and managing partner, said in the release. “He will be greatly missed for his professionalism, incredible passion for the business and especially his investment in the development of others.”

Tribiano is remembered as a talented salesman who understood the intricacies of the fresh produce business like few others do. He preferred to stay behind the scenes while elevating others.

“He set a great example for all of us,” sales manager and category director Bill Poulos said in the release.

Poulos worked alongside Tribiano for more than 30 years.

“That Cal often led the company in annual sales results was really no surprise considering his skill and his hard work, but mostly because he cared so much about the people he was selling to.”

Even on the last day of his life, Tribiano reached out to an Oppy colleague to make sure a customer’s upcoming ad was covered.

While serious about business, he is also remembered for his sense of fun and positive energy.

“He knew how to lighten the mood with humor or a little mischief, or just in the way he said hello like he was really happy to see you. We relied on him to stir the pot from time to time when there was an opportunity, and he was great at it. He had a really infectious laugh, and it was hard not to laugh with him,” Brett Libke, senior vice president of sales, said in the release.

“Cal was a legend at Oppy.”