Grower shipper Tanimura & Antle welcomes back a fourth generation family member, Brian Antle, as the company’s executive vice-president of sales. Antle will oversee the sales department and business development for the company’s fresh produce.
“I'm excited to return full time to Tanimura & Antle and look forward to the opportunities and the future that lies ahead. I enjoyed the opportunities I have been given to learn our family and employee-owned business from the ground up and look forward to working with our sales team to apply that full-picture knowledge,” said Antle.
Left to right: Brian Antle, Chuck Schreiber and Karen Pflaum.
Like other Tanimura & Antle family members, Antle started his career from the ground up and developed a full understanding of the business from seed to shipping. At 14 years old, Antle started his career riding his bike to work each morning to move irrigation pipes in the fields. Over the years, he has worked in a variety of roles and departments. After graduating from California State University, San Luis Obispo, he began working in Tanimura & Antle’s harvest operations where he ultimately was promoted to the vice-president of harvest operations. In 2017, Antle took on the role of president of PlantTape to commercially launch and introduce the automated transplanting system to the United States.
"I have watched Brian grow up at Tanimura & Antle and have always been impressed by his natural leadership abilities. His father Rick was an innovator and partner to the Tanimuras for many years and Brian is a spitting image of his father,” said Gary Tanimura, executive director.
Upon taking on his new role, Antle announced additional promotions within the sales department. Chuck Schreiber has been promoted to senior director of sales and Karen Pflaum has been promoted to senior director of regional sales.
Schreiber started with the company as an intern and has been with Tanimura & Antle for 28 years in a variety of sales-related roles. Most recently, he served as the company’s director of export sales.
Pflaum joined Tanimura & Antle in 2019 as director of regional CEA sales to support the launch of the company’s greenhouse grown product expansion. Pflaum will lead a regional sales team, working with Schreiber and the sales team to continue supporting the company’s customers and bolster its retail presence. Prior to Tanimura & Antle, Pflaum served as the director of midwest regional sales for 20 years at Earthbound Farms and held other sales positions within the industry at Castellini, Fresh Express, Mann Packing and Dole.
For more information:
Ashley Pipkin
Tanimura & Antle
Tel: +1 (831) 214-7453
ashleypipkin@taproduce.com
https://www.taproduce.com/