This year’s winners of the Produce Business 40 Under Forty awards include several young professionals with ties to the citrus industry.
Michelle Alo, 38, is vice president of marketing at Kings River Packing, LP in California. She joined the company as director of marketing in 2022 and was promoted to her current position in 2024. She has been part of the leadership team helping grow Kings River Packing into a top five citrus brand in the United States.
Riley Hicks, 30, is a producecategory manager at Save A Lot in Missouri. In 2023, he returned to Topco Associates, where he had previously worked, and rapidly progressed to senior category analyst, leading sourcing strategy for berries, grapes and citrus. He was promoted to associate category manager for citrus. He joined Save A Lot in 2025.
Greg Lukasik, 34, works in sales for Bartolotta LLC in Pennsylvania. He joined Bartolotta’s sales team in 2019 to specialize in California vegetables and citrus. He also works with Bartolotta’s sister company, Atlantic Fresh Trading, and its watermelon growing facility in Georgia.
Jorge Martinez, 36, is director of varietal operations with Sunkist Growers in California. He began the position in 2023, overseeing the activities of the largest lemon shipper in the world. The program manages the marketing and movement of more than 20 million cartons of lemons per year.
Matthew Mattia, 37, is a research manager and citrus geneticist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service in Florida. His work in citrus variety evaluation, such as identifying the HLB-tolerant Donaldson tree, has potential for revitalizing early-season orange production in the Florida citrus industry. He has released two new HLB-tolerant citrus varieties: US SunGlo and US Brixy.
Alex Oikawa, 37, is director of business intelligence at Taylor Farms in California. In 2014, he joined Robinson Fresh and advanced into an account management role, overseeing citrus purchasing on the West Coast. In 2018, he joined Taylor Farms, beginning as a distribution representative. In 2025, he moved into his current role for the foodservice segment.
Kiah Ruvalcaba, 37, is vice president of marketing and business development for Fowler Packing Company in California. She joined Fowler Packing Company in 2019 as director of marketing, where she led the development and launch of the Peelz citrus brand. Peelz has become the fastest-growing citrus brand and the second largest in the category.
See all 40 winners here.
Source: Produce Business
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