Diamond Foods Opens Bentonville Sales Office
STOCKTON, Calif., July 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Diamond Foods, Inc. , a leading branded food company specializing in processing, marketing and distributing culinary nuts and snack products, announced today that it has opened a sales office in Bentonville, Ark. to provide service exclusively to Wal-Mart, Inc., which is headquartered in Bentonville. Diamond’s Bentonville sales team is led by Jeff Bladdick, vice president of sales for Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club, who has extensive experience working with the world’s largest retailer.
“Jeff and his sales team are permanently located in Arkansas because we strongly believe that there are exciting opportunities to grow our business with Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club, Diamond’s largest retail customer, and that a hands-on approach will yield the best results,” said Michael J. Mendes, president/CEO, Diamond Foods.
Diamond has been a supplier to Wal-Mart for more than 15 years. “It has been a great partnership, and establishing an office in Bentonville is the next step in demonstrating how we’re investing to further strengthen the relationship,” said Mendes.
Bladdick joined the Diamond staff on April 30 with 18 years of extensive packaged goods sales experience, most recently serving with PepsiCo Beverages & Foods’ retail operations based in Bentonville. Previously he was the senior national accounts manager responsible for developing and implementing key business initiatives and tactics for Pepsi at Sam’s Club. He has a bachelor of science degree from Central Missouri State University.
Reporting directly to Bladdick is Ron Talbot, who joined Diamond in February as national account sales director responsible for Wal-Mart sales. Talbot has a total of 28 years of previous sales experience with Alcoa, Inc. and Scott Paper Company. He has a bachelor of science degree from West Chester (Penn.) University.
About Diamond
Diamond is a leading branded food company specializing in processing, marketing and distributing culinary nuts and snack products under the Diamond and Emerald brands.
Diamond Foods, Inc.
CONTACT: Investors, Bob Philipps, VP, Treasury & Investor Relations,+1-415-445-7426, bphilipps@diamondfoods.com, or Media, Vicki Zeigler, PublicRelations Manager, +1-209-932-5639, vzeigler@diamondfoods.com, both of DiamondFoods, Inc.
Web site: http://www.diamondfoods.com/