Leading What’s Next: Legacy, Collaboration and Change

As the global produce industry grows more complex, the leaders steering it must grow more connected. They must be bridge-builders: able to connect sectors, generations, cultures and priorities. And they must do so while honoring a legacy rooted in stewardship, ingenuity and resilience.

This is the heart of the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) Leadership Program, a yearlong journey designed to grow the next generation of leaders in produce and floral. Being part of the program over the past year has pushed me to think more deeply about what kind of leadership the produce industry needs right now, and what it will need next.

I’ve had the opportunity to learn alongside a cohort of exceptional professionals spanning the entire supply chain. I would like to share a small cross-section of their perspectives to demonstrate how the landscape of produce leadership is evolving, and just how bright the future can be.

CARRYING THE PAST INTO THE FUTURE

Bianca Kaprielian, president and co-chief executive, Creekside Organics, understands that carrying on a family legacy also calls for evolving to meet the moment. As a multigenerational grower-shipper, she’s intimately familiar with the traditions that built the industry: hard work, integrity and trust-based relationships.

“Honoring tradition means protecting the values that built our business — integrity, stewardship, and relationships rooted in trust — while staying open to new ways of doing business,” she shares. It has become necessary in an industry shaped by shifting consumer expectations, climate realities and workforce changes.

Kaprielian doesn’t see innovation as a break from tradition, but as a way to preserve it. “The best way I can honor my family’s multigenerational business is to keep it thriving into the future.”

That future, she says, depends on a new kind of leadership. “In the next 5-10 years, we need leaders who understand the unique dynamics of our industry and have the insight to thoughtfully evolve industry practices, while honoring what has come before.”

SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS STRATEGY

For Wyatt Maysey, director of sustainability at Taylor Farms, sustainability shouldn’t be a “feel good” consumer marketing lever but a strategic imperative for the future of our industry. Building a smarter, more resilient system, one that can withstand the growing pressures on agriculture today, is imperative.
He’s quick to point out that intentions aren’t the issue — alignment is. Too often, requests from downstream partners don’t reflect the operational realities upstream. “Even with good intentions, a sustainability request may disrupt operations in ways the retailer doesn’t fully understand,” he says. “We need to be prepared to have proactive conversations — not just ‘yes’ or ‘no’ responses, but real dialogue about what’s feasible and why.”

For Maysey, progress hinges on clearer communication and agreed-upon definitions. He believes the industry needs internal collaboration and alignment to move away from treating sustainability as a vague concept and toward focusing on real, measurable environmental and social outcomes. “Sustainability is contextual. We should talk about it in terms of continuous improvement. Are you reducing your impact year by year? Are you even measuring it?”

CROSS-SECTOR COLLABORATION

One of the clearest examples of cross-sector collaboration I’ve seen came from a simple, but powerful campaign, centered on watermelons. When the National Watermelon Promotion Board set out to reduce food waste, they began to promote creative uses for watermelon rinds.

Megan McKenna, senior director of marketing and foodservice, explains, “Promotion boards do so much more than serve as marketing arms of an industry. We are cross-segment collaborators.”

Her team even invested in nutritional analysis to better support new uses for watermelon rinds, a step that brought together research, marketing, and supply chain strategy.

Daniel Baldin, senior category manager for produce and floral at Longo Brothers, experienced that collaboration firsthand. “Partnership does not end with selling into a retailer; we have to be thinking about selling through. We look for trust, open communication, and effort. It has to be a mutual partnership.”

He recalls one promotion that brought together growers, retailers, and in-store teams: from big displays to a watermelon-eating contest that engaged kids and families. “That’s the kind of collaboration that drives real results.”

McKenna believes the key is authenticity and collaboration in good faith. “Produce owns authenticity. There is nothing more authentic than providing fresh fruits and vegetables. Every time I tour a grower, shipper, importer or processor, I am blown away by the care and joy in the work our industry does.”

LOOKING AHEAD, TOGETHER

The future of produce leadership will be shaped by those carrying forward core values, while navigating the demands of a changing world and collaborating across the global supply chain.

As we look ahead, I encourage leaders at every level to ask: What kind of leadership will our industry need next? Have that conversation, not just within your company, but with your vendors, your customers, and your peers. The bridges we build today will shape the resilience, relevance, and success of our industry in the years to come.

Marissa Dake is the vice president of brand and people at DNO Produce in Columbus, OH. Dake began her career in Washington, D.C., working in food and agriculture policy on and off Capitol Hill. Raised in a farming family, she is no stranger to wrangling cattle, driving a tractor, and fighting off unruly roosters. She is passionate about ensuring that all people have access to fresh produce, regardless of their income or ZIP code.