Meet Driscoll’s new CEO
Watsonville, Calif.-based berry marketer Driscoll’s has selected Soren Bjorn as the company’s new CEO.
Bjorn, currently president of Driscoll’s of the Americas, is slated to begin as CEO in January 2024, overseeing the company’s global day-to-day operations, according to a news release. J. Miles Reiter, the current board of directors chairman and CEO of Driscoll’s, plans to retire at the end of the year and become executive chairman of the company, the release said.
“I’m humbled that Miles, the board, and the thousands of Driscoll’s team members around the world have entrusted me to guide the company into its future,” Bjorn said in the release. “Miles’ legacy is the power and clarity of Driscoll’s mission, vision, and values. He has used them to guide every decision and action for the company. As the new steward of Driscoll’s, I fully commit to all our employees, partners and customers that I will build upon his legacy and honor these same principles.”
Bjorn joined Driscoll’s in 2006 and has been involved in nearly every facet of the business over the past 17 years, the company said. As the former senior vice president of international business and global technologies, he led business development in Europe, South America and Australia, as well as global research, development and breeding, according to the release. He became the leader of Driscoll’s business unit in North America in 2013 and was elevated to his current position as president of Driscoll’s of the Americas in 2017, the release said.
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As the incoming CEO, Bjorn’s priorities are to maintain the company’s thriving culture and continue accelerating its global growth, according to the release. Drawing from his experiences leading R&D and innovation, he plans to guide the company’s efforts to implement new technologies that improve operational efficiencies and ensure the business remains resilient against industrywide challenges such as climate change, the release said.
Departing CEO embarks on a new chapter
Miles Reiter has been involved in the berry business in some capacity for much of the past 70 years. After college, he became a berry grower in California’s Pajaro Valley in the 1970s and was elected chairman of the board in 1988. Reiter has twice served as the company’s CEO — once from 2000 to 2015 and again from 2018 to present, according to the release.
“It’s now time for me to step aside as CEO. Along with our board of directors, I have sought a new leader who is deeply committed to our values, our mission, and a future in which Driscoll’s becomes the world’s berry company, enriching the lives of everyone we touch. It is with great enthusiasm and confidence that we appoint Soren as the new CEO,” Reiter said in the release.
Bjorn’s deep global knowledge of the berry business, powerful intellect, sound judgment and sense of humor make him uniquely qualified as CEO, Reiter added.
“Generations of my family before me and, I suspect, generations after, have been or will be, deeply involved in this always fascinating business,” Reiter said. “A particular pleasure has been to get to know the people who make up our global team of employees, independent growers, industry partners and retail customers, whether it be in the field, at a work site, in the market, over a glass of wine and a meal, or best yet, all of the above.”
