BCBusiness

19 B C B U S I N E S S . C A J U N E 2 0 24 How many employees do you have? Directly, 350 employees, but we're prob- ably dealing with over 400,000 grow- ers around the world who operate in 27 countries. We have 18 offices around the world now. How much has inflation impacted the business in the last few years? It's been a big issue; costs went through the roof. They didn't double or triple, they quadrupled and quintupled. It had a big impact—you see it at the grocery store. There's a bit of easing now—freight rates are coming down—but costs are still high on storage and repack. Anything with labour is continuing to go up; that segment of it is still high. Inflation's come down, but if you're talking about 4 percent this year, that's on top of the 8 percent last year. What have you done in order to survive that? We've had to be as efficient as we pos- sibly can be in repacking and shipping. We had to push prices up, otherwise the growers would go broke. Right now, price increases have flattened off; they're not at the levels they were at before. We were seeing 15 and 20 percent increases. Now you're seeing 5 percent. How about consumption? Has that gone up or down recently? During COVID, consumer demand went up because people were eating more at home. Now people are travelling and eating out a bit more. So consumption has flattened off, too. It's not hitting the growth rates it was before. What are some of the biggest successes or things you're most proud of during your tenure with Oppy? I'm most proud of our ability to deliver healthy, safe and fresh produce year- round while introducing consumers to new, creative products—Oppy introduced Envy, Jazz and Granny Smith apples as well as green and gold kiwifruit to the North American market. It's important to give back, which is why Oppy has donated millions back to the communities in which we call home. I'm also incredibly proud of our growth. When I arrived at Oppy, we were a $7-million company. We're generat- ing $1.3 billion today. I imagine this would be like picking your favourite children, but what's your apple of choice? Envy. What were your experiences with winning the Entrepreneur of the Year awards? Did it affect your life or your company at all? It had a profound effect on the business and how people saw me as an entrepre- neur with a vision. [The wins] definitely enforced the notion that I was on the right track. You've managed to stick around the company for longer than many people's careers. How would you characterize your leadership style? Well, it's about collaboration with people. Our most important assets are honesty and trust. We deal around the world—people have to trust you with products that are perishable. [Growers] do one crop a year and that's it for them. They have to trust that you're going to handle it right, and the retailer has to trust that you're going to deliver it in the fashion they want. Ser- vice the produce business, dominate cus- tomer service, compete on price. We want to make sure that when you're talking to anyone on the team you get the same responses. I know I'm fortunate to be part of one of the largest produce companies in the world, and that I get to do it in B.C. Do you ever think about retirement? Yes, but it will be a phased approach. I have a long way to go before an official retire- ment, as the goal is to remain part-owner and chair. This interview has been edited and condensed. HOBBY Downhill skiing GUILTY PLEASURE Good wine FAVOURITE PLACE IN B.C. Whistler and Lasqueti Island CURRENT TV BINGE Yellowstone MOST MEMORABLE CONCERT Shania Twain LAST BOOK YOU READ I haven't found my way to a good book in a long time as I prefer to read executive highlights QUICK HITS

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