Okanagan Specialty Fruits names new head of enterprise strategy

SUMMERLAND, BRITISH COLUMBIA — Okanagan Specialty Fruits has appointed Paul Carter as head of enterprise strategy, according to an announcement from OSF. 

In the new role, Paul Carter will work across OSF on enterprise strategy, investment decisions, long-range planning and major cross-functional initiatives, according to the announcement. 

The move follows OSF founder Neal Carter’s return to ownership of the company in June. Based in Summerland, British Columbia, Okanagan Specialty Fruits operates a packaging plant in Moses Lake and an orchard in the Frenchman Hills near Othello. 

“Paul brings a valuable combination of agricultural experience, strategic thinking and more than a decade helping organizations improve complex investment and resource-allocation decisions,” Neal Carter wrote in the announcement. “I’m very pleased to have him bring that experience to OSF as we build the next phase of the company.” 

OSF developed the non-browning Arctic® apple, which the company grows and processes as fresh packaged slices and Endless Orchard Hard Cider. The company continues to expand its capabilities in advanced genetics while developing new products, technologies and commercial opportunities in fresh produce, the release said.  

Carter is a structural engineer by training and holds an MBA focused on marketing strategy and finance, according to the announcement. He spent more than a decade at Copperleaf, a software and consulting company specializing in helping large organizations make better investment and resource-allocation decisions.  

“I’ve had a connection to OSF and agriculture for most of my life, but I’m coming back after building my career outside the company,” Paul Carter said. “What excites me is the opportunity to combine that background with the strategy and decision-making experience I’ve gained over the last decade to help OSF focus its people and resources on the opportunities with the greatest potential.”