Leadership Team

Each one of our leaders brings unique qualifications and experience to our day-to-day operations. Their rich mix of skills blend together seamlessly to provide our customers with the solutions they need, and our employees with a safe and rewarding work environment.

• Steve Wiley - Chief Executive Officer

  Steve is focused on delivering sustainable growth by investing in new capabilities and has reiterated the company’s commitment to continue to build a portfolio of innovative products. He is committed to the skill development of his people and to provide a great workplace for employees. Prior to becoming CEO in 2014, Steve was the COO, responsible for planning, directing and overseeing all aspects of operational policies, objectives and initiatives. With a focus on continual process improvement and facility upgrades, Steve oversaw the addition of two additional production sites in Michigan and California. Steve’s proven leadership in creating, building and motivating teams to maximize their value has enhanced the company’s effectiveness at growing in an aggressive and scalable way. Since graduating from Duke University, Steve has been involved with the food industry for over 30 years with companies like Quaker Oats and Sara Lee in increasing capacities including Vice President - Logistics and Distribution, Vice President Supply Chain, and Executive Vice President of Operations.

• Anthony Popielarz - VP of Innovation and Research

  Anthony’s responsibilities include the development of new products across beverage and savory applications. Anthony is dedicated to the development of extensive internal innovation expertise in order to accelerate the pace of new product launches. As a senior innovation leader he ensures that our products are effective and consistently leveraging the developing trends and latest technologies. Anthony has used his degree in Chemistry from State University of New York and prior experience for a major fruit juice manufacturer as a basis to help VJI become a leader in the liquid vegetable ingredient industry. He is an industry expert in the manufacture of purees and juices. His latest focus is analyzing the impact of varietals and growing regions of various vegetables and their yields. Additionally, he is working on the development of cloud stable juices. The recent addition of manufacturing facilities in Michigan and California has enabled Anthony to use his knowledge across a wider platform of manufacturing technologies.

• Rick Marrese - VP Supply Chain Management

  Rick’s 35 year experience with Kraft Foods (which included stints as North America Director of Ingredients and the same title for Dairy and Cheese Ingredients) has enabled him to lead supply chain initiatives at VJI including purchasing and planning. Moreover, his ability to deliver sustainable and efficient supply chain management has positioned Vegetable Juices as a go-to company for year-round supply on many of its products. Rick is an expert in vegetable sourcing by region and conversant in addressing seasonality and varietal quality attributes. Rick also leads the initiative of sourcing culls and remnants to drive low cost while maintaining quality and food safety. Being a seasoned veteran, his leadership has assisted VJI during its growth in new channels and across multiple facilities.

• Mark Witowski – VP of National Sales and Business Development

  Mark is responsible for the leadership, development, management, and delivery of overall sales. Mark’s strong focus on sales strategy, action plans and tactical initiatives has consistently delivered on company and customer goals. His team’s ability to provide the highest level of service is a direct result of his commitment to provide every customer with the right solution every time. Mark has 25+ years of experience in Food Ingredient Sales/Business Development. This experience has fostered close relationships between his team and both purchasing and R&D groups from 12 of the top 15 food companies in the US.

• Mike O’Hara - Director of Technical Services

  Mike assists in planning and execution efforts for the engineering, operational and maintenance functions. His strategic leadership has helped the company with new capital investment programs, technology platforms and innovative product offerings. Mike also provides leadership around the implementation of continuous improvement, technical oversight for energy management and occupational health, safety and environmental regulatory compliance.

• Jeff Graul - Director of Manufacturing

  Jeff is responsible for all manufacturing and operational activities related to meeting production demands, supporting R&D, new product introductions, and working closely with the supply chain team. Jeff’s background includes 27 years of escalating responsibility with Sara Lee including a Vice President of Manufacturing role. After that, he was a consultant in Lean Manufacturing for 3 years. Jeff has a passion for driving safety, quality and productivity across the workplace.

• Lucy Trice - Director of Customer Operations

  Lucy is responsible for implementing strategic goals and objectives focusing on centralizing the efforts of customer service, warehouse/distribution and logistics. These efforts allow her to drive customer-centric practices, which result in creating desirable customer experiences. Her proven leadership in operations management represents the voice of the customer, ensuring that our focus remains the top priority at VJI through an evolution of continuous improvement and high velocity culture change.

• Ed Saak - Director of Quality Assurance

  Ed brings a well-rounded range of experience in process engineering, operations, regulatory and quality from top tier companies like Kraft, Keebler and most recently Diamond Foods. Ed and his team strongly believe in assuring our customers that our products are produced with the highest product integrity. Ed manages a robust quality program that supports our certifications of safe quality food (SQF). Prior to joining Vegetable Juices, Inc., Ed’s dedication to service, quality and process earned him several service awards from Kraft and ACH Foods.

• Randy Decaire - Director of Financial Reporting and Administrative Services

  Randy’s responsibilities include planning, implementing, and managing the company’s financial activities as it relates to budget management, cost benefit analysis, financial reporting and forecasting needs. His results-oriented approach ensures a high level of working productivity across several functions within the organization. Randy has a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Michigan Technological University and is a CPA. His skills and strengths build on his 20 years of diverse experiences in distribution, manufacturing and public accounting.