Oppy strengthens Western U.S. sales squad
Jose Mendoza, Jim Leach and Mario Illiano are Oppy’s new sales representatives, recently appointed from within the leading fresh produce marketer and distributor’s ranks.
Mendoza and Leach are based in the company’s Los Angeles-area office, while Illiano is part of the Seattle, Wash. sales team. All three will focus on developing and sustaining sales of Oppy’s full product range, while employing expertise earned in their previous roles to add value throughout the supply chain.
Illiano, who recently celebrated his five-year anniversary at Oppy, originally joined the company as a sales and marketing intern in 2012. He was promoted to sales assistant in May of 2013, relocating 18 months later from the marketer’s Newark, Del. office to Seattle, where he supported sales and built relationships with regional customers. Illiano also played key roles in optimizing sales for Oppy’s exclusive Ocean Spray cranberry and Orchard View cherry programs nationwide. He was named to the sales representative role in June.
Mendoza, whose background at Oppy spans both logistics and sales, joined David Oppenheimer Transport, the company’s logistics arm, in early 2010. Beginning as a transportation assistant, Mendoza was promoted to transportation coordinator three years later. He transferred to Oppy’s LA sales team in 2014, supporting the group’s efforts in a sales assistant role with invaluable knowledge and energy, according to Walt Breeden, Oppy’s vice president of Canadian and West Coast U.S. sales.
Mendoza was appointed sales representative earlier this month, as was Jim Leach, who joined Oppy as a business development representative in autumn 2016. Leach distinguished himself quickly as a hard working team player whose effective promotional programs and responsiveness to customer needs consistently drove solid sales across Oppy’s product lines, Breeden said.
“With these changes, we’ve strengthened our sales team’s front line with enhanced transportation, marketing and product expertise,” he summed up. “We believe it’s really important to develop talent within Oppy, and these three young professionals have shown that they have what takes to succeed in the next step in their careers. All three have a deep understanding of our business, our categories, and our customers’ needs. It’s exciting to cultivate the next generation of Oppy salespeople as we work toward our overall goals.”
