Sun World International is appointing Gerardo Lugo to the new role of chief commercial officer (CCO) and promoting Global Licensing Directors Pablo Ramirez and Petri van der Merwe to vice presidents of global licensing. These moves reflect Sun World's growth and the opportunities triggered by the company's acquisition of Biogold.
Bernardo Calvo, President and COO of SunWorld and Gerardo Lugo, Chief Commercial Officer.
"It's a cause for celebration in any organization to announce the promotion of not just one, but two valued team members," said Bernardo Calvo, Sun World's president and COO. "But also adding Gerardo, who I've long known and deeply respect, reflects our collective optimism at Sun World. These three professionals are more than ready to hit the ground running on day one in their new positions, which is essential as there are many growth opportunities to be maximized."
Lugo, who will report to Calvo, brings three decades of agricultural experience to Sun World, primarily with Monsanto and Bayer's row crop and vegetable seed businesses where he held numerous senior commercial and strategic roles, both at the global and regional level leading operations in Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Lugo conceived and implemented countless innovative and sophisticated strategic initiatives to drive growth throughout his career.
Pablo Ramirez and Petri van der Merwe were both promoted to VP Global Licensing of Sun World.
Sun World's growth trajectory reflects the work of many team-mates and especially new VPs Pablo Ramirez and Petri van der Merwe. They enhanced Sun World's geographic footprint, collaborated to add system-wide processes and discipline that allow the company to more effectively align with and serve their licensees. They join recently appointed VP of Global Licensing Viresh Ramburan, all three report to Lugo and will manage the company's licensing activities and staff.
Sun World's growth reflects three realities:
The progress made by Sun World scientists and agronomists within the company's core business. This work begun decades ago and has yielded a robust pipeline of new, high-quality table grape and stone fruit offerings. Replacing older or public varieties with new genetics, as well as plantings in existing and new geographies.
The 2024 acquisition of South Africa based Biogold significantly increased Sun World's portfolio to include that company's leadership in citrus, mangoes and, eventually, avocado genetics. The synergy is propelling Sun World's ability to serve existing and new customers with the world's most in-demand fruit genetics.
Lastly, foundational to Sun World's growth is the degree to which the company has leaned into emerging discoveries in artificial intelligence; breakthroughs in science; and potential for the smart use of data and analytics. These opportunities are being weighed carefully with discipline and discernment, the company is convinced that speed to market to better serve licensees can be powerfully impacted by these innovations.
For more information:
Sun World International
www.sun-world.com