Aug 16, 2018
Okanagan co-founder retires; management hires announced

Okanagan Arctic Golden Apples

Okanagan Specialty Fruits (OSF), the developer of non-browning Arctic apple varieties recently announced hires to the company’s management team, as well as the retirement of co-founder Louisa Carter.

J.F. Gamelin joined OSF’s senior management team as Director of Sales and is responsible for leading sales operations for Arctic apples and ApBitz dried apple snacks. Gamelin’s keen vision to drive sales while strategically aligning with OSF’s innovative product development and rapidly expanding supply will be integral to the company’s success. He brings with him a master’s degree in project management and over a decade of sales experience directly in the produce industry.

As a vertically-integrated company and part of its aggressive expansion plans OSF has also started the process of developing its own centralized fruit receiving, storage, processing, packing and shipping facility in Washington state. Joel Yeager has been hired as Facility Operations Manager and will play a vital role in assisting with the development of this infrastructure and overseeing day-to-day operations when it’s complete. With a bachelor’s degree in business management and 28 years in the food processing industry, Yeager’s experience will be a valuable asset to this endeavor.

“We are extremely excited about the growth opportunities ahead of us at OSF,” explains Neal Carter, President of Okanagan Specialty Fruits. “The industry experiences these new team members bring will play an integral role in reaching our goals and finding creative solutions to any challenges we may encounter along the way.”

Carter’s wife, Louisa, who helped co-found OSF, retired earlier this year as the company’s Chief Financial Officer after dedicating over two decades of involvement in the development of Arctic apples. Andrew Hofer has been hired as her replacement. As a Chartered Accountant who grew up on an orchard in British Columbia, Hofer’s has proven to be a natural replacement.

“Starting this company with Louisa has been such an adventure and I couldn’t have done it without her,” Carter said in a news release from the company. “Her retirement is very well-deserved and I know I speak for the whole team when I say how much her contributions were valued and will be missed.”




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