Produce pro joins Oppy Toronto
With over a decade of fresh produce experience behind him, Donald Slot joined The Oppenheimer Group’s sales team ready to hit the ground running in late July.
As Oppy’s new Toronto-based sales representative, he will market the company’s full assortment to Eastern Canadian customers.
Slot’s recent experience includes four years as a key account executive at Westrow Food Group, a leading Canadian food broker, where he had focused on the company’s imported fresh produce business since June 2010. Overseeing the supply chain―from procurement to business development―for such items as citrus, berries, grapes, stone fruit and tropicals, Slot gained expertise that crosses seamlessly over to his Oppy role, according to Walt Breeden, director of sales for Canada.
“Donald’s skills and experience are a great fit,” he said. “His knowledge of the inner workings of the imported produce business, as well as his retail relationships, will immediately enhance our service in Eastern Canada.”
Also during his tenure at Westrow, Slot delivered successful organic programs across several product categories, capitalizing on the growing demand for organic grapes, stone fruit and citrus, among other items. Breeden notes that organics are an emerging category at Oppy, which would welcome the new sales representative’s expertise.
“There’s a great deal of social interest around organics,” Slot said. “People are looking to growers and marketers to help them understand what is behind their food. I think there’s a good opportunity to make organics a larger part of the Oppy portfolio in Eastern Canada.”
Slot’s background also includes sales and procurement at Global Fresh Import and Export, Inc. of Toronto, where he specialized in southern hemisphere citrus and tropicals, as well as five years with B.C. Tree Fruits Ltd. as a strategic account manager.
