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Mr. Smith has more than 30 years of experience in the food industry serving as Chief Operating Officer, Director and senior positions in Operations, Supply Chain and Finance. Most recently, he partnered with another investor to purchase Del Monte Foods, obtained equity backing and successfully concluded the acquisition in April 1997.Mr. Smith served as the Chief Operating Officer and a Director of Del Monte Foods. During his tenure, Mr. Smith oversaw internal growth initiatives which, combined with a series of strategic acquisitions, grew annual revenues from $1 billion to $3 billion. He also directed the restructuring of the manufacturing operations for the three major businesses (fruit, vegetable, tomato). Through this restructuring, combined with aggressive cost-cutting and strategic capital investment, costs were lowered over a five-year period, and a large portion of the capital investment was financed through inventory reduction. Mr. Smith built a national sales force and brokerage network to sell packaged fruits through the produce channel.Prior to joining Del Monte, Mr. Smith worked at Dole Foods. There, he led a team that developed a manufacturing and distribution system for its start-up beverage and frozen novelty business using zero capital. He helped grow the beverage business to the number three spot in the chilled and frozen category (after Minute Maid and Tropicana). Previously, in Hawaii, Mr. Smith turned around an underperforming operation to one which had the highest agricultural yields and cannery recoveries in the world. He completely revised Dole Foods’ agricultural program to transform a seasonal operation into a year-round processing facility, thereby reducing the employment base from 6,500 to 2,500, and dramatically lowering the amount of capital required to perform needed facility upgrades.Mr. Smith received an A.B. degree from Brown University, and an M.B.A. from Stanford University. He has been an active industry leader, serving as Chairman, National Food Processors Association; President, National Juice Products Association; and President, Pineapple Growers Association of Hawaii. Mr. Smith is currently serving as a Director of privately-held Musco Family Olive Company, and sits on the Board of Directors, Western Region, Boy Scouts of America. | 