Kelsey Rose, 34
Sales Team Leader , John Vena Inc. (JVI) , Philadelphia, PA
June 10, 2025 | 3 min to read
SHORT BIO
Hometown: Ambler, PA
Hobbies: Running, Cooking, Reading, Spending time with family
Motto in life: You are confined only by the walls you build yourself.
Rose began her journey with JVI in 2016 with no produce experience, but a passion for food. After graduating with a food marketing degree from St. Joseph’s University in 2012, she began working at JVI in 2016 as a sales support specialist. After moving to sales team leader in 2018, she took on new responsibilities including a larger customer base to manage, as well as buying responsibilities. As she progressed in the role, she became responsible for managing a team, focused on supervising a team of sales support specialists, tracking and growing sales within the teams’ customer base, managing scheduling, and taking on more buying responsibilities. During her tenure at JVI, she has managed customers in retail, processing, meal-kit, and foodservice.
She was selected to be a member of the Eastern Produce Council Leadership Class in 2021, and has also taken on the mentorship of JVI’s college interns from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.
Q: How did you begin working in the produce industry and why?
After working two unrelated jobs out of college, I was ready to focus on a career that would lean more toward my food marketing degree in 2016. A close friend from college worked at JVI, and I was intrigued by the family-oriented aspect of JVI, as well as the specialty produce focal point. Since beginning with the company, I have learned so much about specialty produce and its important role in daily life, cultural celebrations, holidays, etc. Being able to source product for customers looking for the perfect item to enhance a dish or bring a sense of home to their table is so rewarding.
Q: What advice would you give someone new to the produce industry?
At times, the produce industry can be unforgiving. We are dealing with perishable products and also products that have very specific seasonality and growing regions. Weather events, gaps in availability or an unexpected early end to a season are all inevitable factors that challenge our day-to-day. I recommend focusing on how to handle these situations and to not let it break you down. Staying informed and finding comparable substitutes to offer customers in times of need is so important. The produce industry won’t always go your way, but building trust with your customers and learning how to handle the gaps and disappointments makes that unpredictability a lot easier.
Q: What is the one thing in your business that you are most passionate about?
I am passionate about teamwork and contributing to a positive culture within our business. We are all working together to achieve the same goals, so working well as a team and creating systems that make everybody’s day-to-day run smoother is imperative.
Q: How has the industry changed during your tenure?
JVI is located within a wholesale produce market and, prior to the pandemic, business was non-stop. COVID-19 really forced the stores on the market to reevaluate their shopping hours, as well as put some constraints on the way we fulfill customer orders. In my opinion, this has allowed us to focus more on customers’ needs.
Q: What accomplishment are you most proud of in your career?
Learning how to manage a team and be a better leader has been extremely rewarding. As an introvert, a lot of the responsibilities that come with being a supervisor can seem daunting. However, getting the experience of teaching, evaluating and mentoring fellow teammates has been such an exciting and rewarding part of my role.
NOMINEES
