Hazel Technologies Inc. has selected Malkeet Padda as its vice president of postharvest operations, a new position within the company.
Padda will be tasked with leading Hazel’s global postharvest initiatives and developing data that demonstrates the company’s product performance, differentiation and value propositions, according to a news release.
“During his time at Driscoll’s, Malkeet became intimately familiar with the successful results and growth potential of Hazel’s Breatheway technology, a knowledge base which makes him an ideal fit for this important new role at Hazel,” Hazel Technologies CEO Parker Booth said in the release. “Beyond that, Malkeet has an incredible resume of research and sophisticated understanding of the industry that will be an asset to our company. We are excited to welcome Malkeet into our team.”
Padda comes to Hazel from Plenty Unlimited Inc, where he was director of postharvest physiology. In that position, Padda developed the company’s postharvest program, assessing shelf-life performance of all products and collaborating across plant sciences, commercial and operations to develop and optimize new packaging solutions, the release said. Prior to that, Padda led the global postharvest R&D at Driscoll’s Inc., where he was responsible for conducting research on physiological mechanisms of shelf life and testing emerging technologies to maintain fruit quality including the adoption of Hazel’s Breatheway technology.
Padda was a postdoctoral associate at University of California, Davis, where he worked on numerous research projects involving strawberries, cherries, apples and mangoes. Padda earned a Ph.D. in horticulture at Louisiana State University and a master’s degree in horticulture and a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from Punjab Agricultural University.
Padda’s unofficial coming out party with Hazel Technologies will take place during the Fruit Logistica conference Feb. 7-9 in Berlin, the release said. Forecasting an ambitious 2024, Hazel Technologies says it is focusing on extending shelf life to more fresh produce categories through its Hazel 100 and Hazel Breatheway product lines.
Fruit Logistica attendees can visit the Hazel Technologies team at Hall 23, Booth B-04 to learn more about its solutions to combat food waste and improve fruit quality.
