5/1/2022
On The Move
Jennifer Zurko
ANATIS BIOPROTECTION
Ronald Valentin has joined the Anatis team as Director of Technical Business. Ronald was inspired at a very young age by his parents' work in the Netherlands—his father was one of the first to use biological control in his greenhouses in 1970. After his studies and several years of work across Europe, Ronald moved to Canada in the late 1990s and has held several positions in several well-known companies in the field of biological control.
BAILEY
Bailey announced two new members of the Consumer Brand team: Lisa Swast as Retail & Landscape Program Coordinator, and Kelly Becker as Brand & Licensing Sales Representative.
Lisa Swast has been with Bailey for over five years, first as an Inside Sales Representative. Most recently, she’s been a valued member of the Brand team as the Brand & Licensing Representative. In her new role as Retail & Landscape Program Coordinator, Lisa will work with garden center and landscape channels to support Bailey’s consumer brands, creating demand and connecting these channels with its network of licensed wholesale growers.
Kelly Becker joined Bailey almost five years ago working as Assistant Foreman Inventory Control at the Nord Farm location in Minnesota. In her new role as Brand & Licensing Sales Representative, Kelly will support Nick Stevens in his roles as Licensee Account Representative, as well as support brand sales.
DÜMMEN ORANGE
Dümmen Orange has promoted Marta Maria Garcia to become its head of marketing and retail for Dümmen Orange North America. An experienced corporate retail marketing executive, she joined the company last year as retail director. Marta Maria brings valuable insight to the position gained from Dümmen Orange and her previous management experience at Nature’s Way Farms, Designer Cut Flowers, Costa Farms and Bacardi. Her track record of creating and launching retail programs has been recognized throughout the horticulture industry.
FLORALIFE
FloraLife, a division of Smithers-Oasis Company, recently launched its new website, floralife.com, to provide a better experience for its users, along with a vast source of floral industry educational resources. Catering to all the floral industry’s channels from grower to consumer, the new website focuses on industry education and also provides an improved, easy-to-navigate product database, where-to-buy section, worldwide locations, services, FAQs and overview of the company’s sustainability practices.
The biggest improvement to the FloraLife website is the new education section, which offers a vast source of knowledge on topics regarding the floral industry. This dynamic section will be constantly evolving with new information as it’s available.
OASIS GROWER SOLUTIONS
Oasis Grower Solutions announced the addition of technical sales representative Sharon Warschauer to support customers throughout the United States and Canada. In this role, Sharon will provide technical product and sales support to growers, farmers, and distributors throughout her territories in North America. Sharon brings extensive experience and knowledge of the horticultural industry, starting with her B.S. degrees in Horticulture and Agronomy from Purdue University.
PANAMERICAN SEED
PanAmerican Seed announced the addition of Sarah Makiejus as its new Marketing Manager. Previously, Sarah was at Cintas Corporation where she was the Product Marketing Manager, bringing an extensive background in marketing, including campaigns, catalogs, product collateral and email marketing. In her role, she was involved with the creation of product descriptions and names, and helped to develop trademarks. Sarah has a BS in Merchandising with a concentration on Marketing from Illinois State University and has been given several awards during her career, including the G.E.M. Marketing Award.
SAKATA SEED AMERICA
Sakata Seed America recently reimagined its trade-focused website—www.SakataOrnamentals.com—by enhancing design, functionality and user experience. The website allows for easy navigation of new varieties, tried-and-true favorites and convenient grower resources like culture guides, product brochures and catalogs.
SIGNIFY
Signify has expanded its team in the United States with the addition of Jackie Weise as Key Account Manager for horticulture lighting. In her new role, Jackie will support business development efforts in the Western U.S. for Philips horticulture LED lighting across all customer segments.
Jackie has an extensive background in the high-tech and agricultural industries, and more than 19 years of experience in sales, business development and strategic partnerships. Based in Northern California, she’ll focus on developing new business, supporting horti partner engagement and establishing direct contact with growers. Jackie will work in close collaboration with Signify’s team of Plant Specialists and Application Engineers to facilitate custom lighting solutions to meet customer needs.
For the past two years, Jackie served as the Director of Business Development at BIOS Lighting. Prior to joining BIOS, she spent three years as Director of the Western Region–North America at Heliospectra AB, where she supported small and large growers with their lighting needs.
SYNGENTA FLOWERS
Syngenta Flowers announced the appointment of Emily Mason as Global Head of Marketing. This strategic hire supports the company’s focus on growth and innovation in recent years and a new 15-year strategic roadmap to further help growers be successful. Emily brings 20-plus years of experience from the horticulture industry, having worked for Color Spot Nurseries and Dümmen Orange in various roles, including finished production, product management and supply chain.