Sunsweet Growers Names Brad Schuler Chief Executive Officer

"Brad becomes the 4th consecutive CEO to be hired from within based on demonstrated performance. Brad is clearly the right choice for CEO having observed and assimilated the collective learning of the previous three CEO's. There's no doubt Brad has a vision for the next decade and the personal drive to lead Sunsweet to its highest levels of performance ever," shares outgoing President & CEO, Dane Lance, who is stepping down after a nearly thirty-five-year career. "Brad embodies what we call the "Sunsweet Way" of stretch for results, do the right thing, take personal ownership, and work together to win."

Mr. Schuler's ascent to CEO reflects an impressive twenty-five-year tenure at Sunsweet, where he demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities and mastered the intricacies of Sunsweet's global business. In the near term, Mr. Schuler states his focus will be continued re-investment in state-of-the-art production assets, migration toward new enterprise software with cutting-edge AI capabilities, and organizational training to effectively utilize these new tools toward a vision of relentlessly building Sunsweet's global brand.

"Brad has demonstrated the ability to grow Sunsweet's business, and he's been pivotal in helping foster a unique business strategy and culture at Sunsweet that generates high performance toward relentlessly building the Sunsweet brand for the future," comments Sunsweet Board Chairman Brendon Flynn.

Sunsweet, founded in 1917, has over a hundred years' experience. Its prunes are by far the largest and most successful global brand. Sunsweet is owned by a cooperative network of over 180 growers.

"Brad creates a feeling of family whose members are loyal to both Sunsweet and each other," shared Flynn.