Meet the New Faces at Fine Americas and Oasis Grower Solutions

Fine Americas and Oasis Grower Solutions have announced the following additions to their respective teams.

Oasis Grower Solutions Announces Strategic Personnel Updates

Oasis Grower Solutions has announced key additions to its team of Sales, Customer Service, and Product/Technical Support professionals.

In a notable addition to the Sales team, seasoned horticulture industry professional Eric Waterman has joined the Oasis Grower Solutions team as Territory Sales Manager for the Northeast U.S. and Eastern Canada. Based in Maine, Waterman brings the team more than 15 years of experience in the substrate industry. Though focused on the Northeast, Waterman’s responsibilities will also include key national/regional distributor accounts.

“Having known Eric as a respected competitor for many years, I am especially excited to have him join us at this stage in his career,” says Director of Global Grower Operations and Research Vijay Rapaka, Ph.D. “We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership. I’m confident that his expertise and diverse work with leading growers, retailers and distributors across markets will be a great asset to our team.”

Additionally, Kady Herold has joined the team as Customer Service Specialist. Herold’s professional background includes extensive work in logistics as well as numerous customer-centric responsibilities that will greatly benefit the Oasis Grower Solutions team. Herold will work closely with the division’s customers and internal teams to ensure a high level of service and support.

In a related move, Brenton Williams has been promoted to the role of Product & Technical Solutions Manager. With Oasis Grower Solutions since 2014, Williams has served in research, national and international sales, and technical customer service. This new role will leverage his extensive technical product knowledge and grower relationships to focus on technical support, product solutions, and ensuring customers get the most value from Oasis Grower Solutions product lines.

“These additions and changes strengthen our ability to support customers, develop new opportunities, and continue growing our business in North America and globally,” says Rapaka. “I am very excited about what these individuals will bring to our team, as well as what our team can bring to them. As always, I feel very fortunate to lead this team as we help advance the growing industries worldwide.”

Fine Americas Names New U.S. Agricultural Sales Leaders

Fine Americas has strengthened its U.S. agricultural sales organization with two leadership appointments: Chase Edwards joins the company as Pacific Northwest Sales Manager, and Rob Stutesman has been promoted to U.S. Ag Sales Manager.

Edwards brings hands-on agronomic and tree fruit production experience to Fine’s Northwest team. Most recently, he served as an agronomist with Allan Brothers, where he helped guide agronomic strategy and integrated pest management programs for tree fruit operations, developed data-driven crop recommendations, managed key production inputs, and supported field teams and farm operations.

Edwards earned a B.S. in Integrated Plant Sciences from Washington State University, with an emphasis in Fruit and Vegetable Management and a minor in Agricultural Economics, graduating summa cum laude. He grew up working in his family’s cherry farm, giving him a lifelong connection to Northwest agriculture and a firsthand understanding of the challenges growers face.

Stutesman, who previously served as Fine’s Pacific Northwest Sales Manager, moves into the newly created role of U.S. Ag Sales Manager. He brings more than 33 years of experience in the agricultural retail industry, with a career spanning sales, marketing, business development, and product launches.

“We’re very excited to have Chase and Rob taking on these roles as Fine Americas continues to grow and strengthen our relationships with customers,” says Damian Eldred, President of Fine Americas. “Chase brings an exceptional combination of agronomic knowledge, production experience, and a firsthand understanding of Pacific Northwest tree fruit. He knows the challenges growers face because he has worked directly in the same production environments they manage every day.”

“Rob has played an important role in building Fine’s presence in the Pacific Northwest over the past several years, and this promotion gives us the opportunity to put his experience and leadership to work nationally,” Eldred added. “His depth of agricultural sales and marketing experience, product development expertise, and ability to build strong teams will be tremendous assets as we continue to expand our business and help growers across the U.S. achieve their goals and objectives.”