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Case Study: Global Fresh Produce Leader Secures Critical North American Expansion Executive
When T&G Global came to us, they had a problem that many growing international companies face: their North American operations had outpaced their leadership structure.
This 127-year-old New Zealand company, now a subsidiary of German agricultural giant BayWa, had built an impressive market presence with premium apple brands like Envy, Jazz, and Joli. But managing their complex web of partner relationships across North America required a different caliber of leadership; someone who could think strategically about brand building, navigate sophisticated partnerships, and deliver real financial results.
Our executive recruiters found that leader in an unexpected place: the consumer healthcare industry. The placement proved what we’ve long believed: the best executives aren’t always found in the most obvious sectors.
Company Background
T&G Global has been in the fresh produce business since 1897. With over 1,600 employees across four continents, they’ve grown from their New Zealand roots into a genuinely global operation that grows, markets, and exports fresh fruits and vegetables.
Their VentureFruit division develops new fruit varieties, while their core business focuses on premium apples and comprehensive produce trading.
But success creates its own challenges. T&G Global’s North American operations had evolved into a complex structure involving three specialized partner agents handling everything from marketing and sales to logistics. It worked, but it wasn’t optimized. They needed someone who could get more out of these relationships while building stronger internal capabilities.
The timing was critical. Their proprietary apple brands were gaining traction, and the window to capture meaningful market share wouldn’t stay open forever.
The Challenge
T&G Global wanted to consolidate two existing positions—Head of Americas and Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing NAM—into a single strategic role. The new Senior Vice President Americas would manage twenty-four people while fundamentally rethinking how the company approached the North American market.
This wasn’t a typical sales leadership role. Yes, the position required driving their premium apple brands across the complete North American value chain.
But it also demanded something more nuanced: developing an optimized go-to-market strategy that leveraged agent partnerships without becoming dependent on them. And it required improving performance across their broader fresh produce trading operations throughout the Americas.
The organizational geography added another layer of complexity. With headquarters in New Zealand and apple leadership scattered globally, the role required comfort operating across time zones and cultures while keeping everyone aligned on strategic priorities.
In short, they needed someone who could think strategically, manage complex partnerships, deliver financial results, and do it all while building a cohesive team across multiple geographies.
Search Strategy and Executive Process
We started with a hypothesis: the right person probably wouldn’t come from a direct competitor. The skills T&G Global needs in brand development, channel management, partnership optimization, and international operations are found in other industries, often in more sophisticated forms.
Our team identified over 200 qualified candidates across consumer goods, agriculture, and related sectors. We focused on executives who had built scalable commercial strategies within complex partnership ecosystems. The search was confidential, requiring careful stakeholder management and discreet candidate engagement.
We maintained weekly strategic consultations with T&G Global leadership, continuously refining the target profile based on market feedback. This approach kept us aligned while protecting the confidentiality of both the client and the candidates.
The process yielded ten exceptional candidates from diverse backgrounds. Each underwent a comprehensive evaluation covering strategic thinking, operational excellence, international experience, and cultural fit with T&G Global’s values and direction.
The Successful Candidate
The executive we placed came from Perrigo Company PLC, a $4.2 billion global healthcare company specializing in consumer goods, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and supply chain operations.
During eleven years at Perrigo, this leader had transformed the company’s approach to consumer healthcare through a combination of strategic vision and operational discipline. As Vice President and General Manager of Perrigo Direct, they ran a specialized distribution business serving over 600 customers with the GoodSense brand and twenty additional OTC brands.
The numbers tell the story. They turned around the business unit by 776 basis points in gross margin and 692 basis points in operating income. Later, they delivered record sales growth of 27% year over year, alongside a record gross margin improvement of 1,002 basis points.
But what really caught our attention—and T&G Global’s—was their experience with complex partnerships. They had successfully negotiated and managed licensing agreements with major brands, including Nasonex and Burt’s Bees. The Nasonex launch delivered net sales and contribution margin 200% above projections. The Burt’s Bees partnership established Burt’s Bees as the second-leading brand in the OTC natural segment.
They also had M&A experience, having led the diligence and integration of Ranir, the leading provider of store-brand oral care products. And they knew how to build teams, improving employee engagement scores by 68% under their leadership, and they developed multiple direct reports into expanded leadership roles.
Implementation and Results
The logistics weren’t simple. Coordinating interviews between candidates in North America and T&G Global leadership in New Zealand meant weekend and evening sessions to accommodate time differences. But we made it work.
We introduced the selected candidate twenty-one days after the search commencement. The four-month timeline reflected T&G Global’s thorough evaluation process and the complexity of coordination, not any delays in finding the right person.
Outcome: Strategic Value and Long-Term Impact
Since placement, T&G Global has seen improvement across all stated objectives. The new SVP Americas successfully consolidated the fragmented leadership structure while implementing performance-based management systems for agent partnerships. Strategic planning immediately enhanced both internal efficiency and external partnership optimization.
Final Thoughts
This engagement reinforces something we see repeatedly: the best leadership talent often comes from adjacent industries, not direct competitors. Consumer healthcare and fresh produce might seem worlds apart, but the underlying capabilities of brand building, channel management, partnership optimization, and financial discipline transfer remarkably well.
The consolidation of two roles into one more strategic position reflects modern organizational design. The emphasis on partnership optimization represents a contemporary approach to market expansion through strategic alliances rather than pure organic growth.
For T&G Global, this wasn’t just a senior hire. It was a strategic investment in North American market expansion with implications for global brand development and operational excellence. They hired someone with proven ability to build scalable commercial strategies, optimize complex partnerships, and deliver measurable financial results in a competitive market.
For us, it demonstrated what executive search should be: understanding the real capabilities a role requires, looking beyond obvious candidate pools, managing complex logistics across time zones, and delivering someone who can drive genuine transformation.
That’s what partnership in executive search really means.
If your organization is ready to overcome similar challenges and find the right executive to unlock growth, partner with Cowen Partners Executive Search to secure the leadership your business needs.
About Cowen Partners Executive Search
Cowen Partners Executive Search is a premier executive search firm in all 50 states, dedicated to connecting organizations with top-tier talent that drives strategic objectives and fuels success.
Our executive recruiters specialize in C-Suite, board, and senior leadership placements, providing unparalleled access to the top 1% of leaders across diverse industries.
Our proven processes and guaranteed results have empowered hundreds of clients in sectors including manufacturing, technology, financial services, healthcare, and private equity to build winning teams. Partner with us to find world-class leaders who will accelerate your company’s growth and success.
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