Salvator J. Marchese, 30
Chief Operating Officer , Cut Fresh LLC , Milwaukee, WI
June 10, 2025 | 3 min to read
SHORT BIO
Hometown: Oconomowoc, WI
Hobbies: Cars, Hunting, Fishing, Nature walks with son
Family/Community: Husband, 1 son, St. Jerome Church in Oconomowoc
Motto in life: It is what it is.
Marchese worked from the ground up to become COO of his family’s fresh-cut company. He is known as someone who leads by example and is often seen working side by side with his production crew. He began in the family business in 2013, working on the lettuce line, and he worked through every position from 2013 to 2018, from machine maintenance to quality control. From 2018 to 2022, he worked as a shift production supervisor until 2022 when he became COO where he is now responsible for all facets of the production operations.
During his professional journey, he learned new skills to develop new cuts and collaborated with customers on new blends to meet business needs. He has created numerous products through collaborations with a variety of chefs and businesses to find the best, cleanest, and most efficient versions of recipes that have ultimately saved countless dollars (labor, liability, product yield) to the businesses he works to support.
As COO, he also finds creative ways to reduce waste, since the nature of pre-cut produce is to gain as close to 100% yield as possible. He is a huge advocate for employee safety and ensuring the company’s people are as well taken care of as customers. He also maintains a clean facility, with high Primus GFS Audit Rankings year-by-year and minimal safety issues.
Q: How did you begin working in the produce industry and why?
My father is Jack Marchese and, for as long as I can remember, it has been my dream to follow in my father’s footsteps. I wanted to learn the ropes and take over from my father once the time is right. Eventually, I hope to leave this legacy to my children and keep the family business of 91 years running for 91 more years.
Q: What advice would you give someone new to the produce industry?
Don’t be afraid when you don’t know the answers right away, lean on your counsel, and trust your team. They will carry you farther than you think.
Q: What is the one thing in your business that you are most passionate about?
Quality, customer service, and treating my staff fairly. I like to lead by example and provide a happy environment, so people are happy to work with me at Cut Fresh. I like to avoid the standard “corporate” work environment as much as possible. I grew up working with my family and I want my crew to feel like we are all family, too.
Q: What challenges and opportunities do you see for the future of the industry?
I see many opportunities in making fresh produce more easily accessible to people within their own homes. I am aware of food deserts and want nothing more than to provide safe, clean, and healthy produce to those who would benefit from the added convenience that delivery or pre-cut options provide. Food safety is always a challenge that will add more layers to an already complicated process, but I am passionate about food safety, first and foremost, so we rise to the challenge and try to lead the way in food safety. Two back-to-back 100% scores on our Primus GFS Audits speak for themselves.
Q: What accomplishment are you most proud of in your career?
Starting as a production worker on the food line at the beginning of my career, I never believed that I would work my way up to COO. I am infinitely grateful and proud of the mentors, colleagues and friends that allowed me to step into this position and guided me through all facets of this business so I could learn and thrive.
NOMINEES
