Carissa Olsen is the new president and CEO of NoKota Packers Inc., Buxton, N.D.
Olsen succeeds Steve Tweten, who retired in December.
She joined the company 15 years ago, as an administrative assistant, and her most recent role as chief operating officer began three years ago, according to a news release. Before that, she was director of operations.
Olsen has worked in numerous roles at the company, including food safety, human resources, grower relations and accounting, which has helped her “immensely with the nuts and bolts of the business operations,” she said in the release.
“My father, who will retire at the end of this season, was NoKota’s first employee, so I grew up around the business, following him while he worked in the plant and touring potato fields,” Olsen said in the release. “Pairing my experience in various roles with my knowledge of the history and current operations has prepared me thoroughly for this position.”
NoKota Packers is a member of Fresh Solutions Network LLC, a group of potato and onion grower-shippers who supply the Side Delights line of potatoes and other products.
It is a third-generation packer and shipper of red potatoes grown in the Red River Valley.
Mike Rerick, vice president of sales and marketing, and Steve Johnson, who is in sales, will continue in those roles, according to the release.
Kathleen Triou, president and CEO of Fresh Solutions Network, said Olson “will continue to lead with the same clarity of vision, mission, and purpose that has made NoKota successful over the last 40 years, while honoring the legacy of the founders and continuing it for future generations.”
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