New Brooks Tropicals CEO is settling in

Excerpts from a 6/20/11 article in The Packer

Greg Smith has had about two months to acclimate himself as chief executive officer at Brooks Tropicals LLC in Homestead, Fla., and the transition has been smooth, said Mary Ostlund, marketing director.

"Walking in the door he was, 'you're doing a great job; how can we do it better?'" Ostlund said. " He pushes us to think about how we do our jobs and how they can be done better."

Smith, who has an executive background with Coca-Cola and is new to the produce industry, has emphasized public relations efforts in his first couple of months, Ostlund said. "We're pitching story ideas 'starring' our brands to consumer magazines and other media," she said.