Who’s headed for pastures new?

• Rustler Produce Ltd, part of the Produce World Group, and one of the UK’s premier suppliers of top quality onions and leeks, has announced the appointment of Jonathan Tole as its product and technical director.

He has been with the company for two years having previously worked at G’s Marketing, become a director of C Olsen Farms in Poland for a year, and returned to G’s as a product manager. Tole said: “I want to be a part of the company’s development and help to deliver total customer satisfaction through our top quality range of vegetables. This is a very exciting time to be in the fresh produce industry and Rustler Produce Ltd is a company with a great future.”

• Emma Cherry has taken on the new role of JO Sims technical sales executive. Cherry joins Sims from United Biscuits where she was a product development manager for KP Nuts. At Sims, she will be responsible for providing technical sales support to customers looking to incorporate innovative fruit ingredients into their products. She will also manage several key accounts.

The company has also appointed Christine Porter as customer service manager.

• Syngenta Seeds Ltd has appointed David Clay and Nigel Kingston as vegetable seed sales specialists. Both bring a wide-ranging knowledge and experience of working within the vegetable industry, having been involved in agriculture and horticulture for more than 25 years.

• Peter Beaven has taken over as Pipfruit NZ’s chief executive The ex-Hawke’s Bay pipfruit orchardist and exporter, also a qualified lawyer, replaces Paul Browne, who resigned at the end of October.

• Yorkshire Fresh Salads, part of Geest’s Fresh Produce Division, has taken on Neil McKay as its new NPD manager. McKay has moved within the company from Geest at Barton, where he worked for almost four years as product development manager.

Meanwhile, Geest’s Fresh Produce Division has also appointed Kate O’Shea as general manager of English Village Salads, along with Graeme Townson as the companies financial controller.

O’Shea joined Geest in 1995 as general manager of the Produce Division (Horticulture). Townson joined EVS from Geest’s Alresford Salads and brings an excellent understanding of the produce business from a financial perspective.