Charles Sullivan, B.B.A.’16

Natural Leader

Account Manager, Naturipe Farms

Leading comes naturally to Charles Sullivan, an account manager at Naturipe Farms for their value-added foods division, which includes items that fit into the frozen produce, dried fruits and concentrate categories. Naturipe Farms is a grower-owned producer of berries and avocados that are farmed across small family homesteads to large estates in both North and South America.

One of Sullivan’s favorite aspects of being in a sales position at Naturipe Farms is learning firsthand about produce from the farmers by visiting their fields and production facilities, and communicating that knowledge to customers down the line. He doesn’t take his role as liaison between grower-customer relationships lightly, and delivering the high-quality product Naturipe is known for while maximizing profits for Naturipe farmers is the sweet spot for him.

The food and consumer package goods marketing program at WMU Haworth laid the foundation for his career in produce, and he continues to sharpen these skills today by participating in ventures like the Center for Growing Talent by PMA’s Emerging Leaders Program.

Favorite Travel Destination: “Greece! I could go back over and over. My wife and I have talked about how amazing it would be to live there. The cuisine, the culture and the beauty of the country is impossible to beat.”