Tom Hurson, President and CEO for Tree Top, Inc., and President of Northwest Naturals, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary
Tom has been with the company since 1984 has been on the executive team for over two decades. He has held progressively more responsible positions within Finance, Sales and Marketing in the Consumer Packaged Goods and Ingredient businesses, most recently as Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing. Tom received a BS degree in Accounting from Central Washington University. He is very active in several industry associations, and is currently serving as the past Chairman of the Board of Directors, Juice Products Association and is a board member of Apple Processors Association.
Dwaine Brown, Vice President Information Services and Chief Information Officer
Dwaine rejoined Tree Top’s leadership team in 2004 and worked as a product manager, director of Financial Analysis, Controller and Chief Financial Officer with oversight of Information Services. Dwaine is a Certified Management Accountant with over 30 years of experience in agricultural-based food companies, including several leadership roles with Small Planet Foods General Mills, IBP Inc., and Ocean Spray. Dwaine has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Iowa State University. He is a member of the National Society of Accountants for Cooperatives as well as treasurer on Washington Apple Education Foundation’s board of directors.
Craig Green, Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Craig joined Tree Top in June 2017 bringing more than 15 years of experience working in the agricultural industry, most recently as CEO of Legacy Fruit. He began his career in public accounting and guided business clients, primarily in the agricultural industry in financial optimization. Craig was recruited to Watts Brothers Farms in Kennewick and took on the role of Chief Financial Officer in 2002. Craig held the position of Chief Financial Officer for River Point Farms for nine years and in 2013 also took on the role of Chief Operating Officer. While at River Point Farms he worked closely with the board in a senior leadership role developing and leading strategic initiatives to improve profitability and financial stability to improve results and long-term competitive advantage. Craig obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration, Accounting, and Information Systems from the University of Alaska. He is a Certified Public Accountant and member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Cris Hales, Vice President Fruit Procurement and Grower Services
Cris joined Tree Top in 2012, as director Fruit Procurement & Grower Services. Cris brought more than 26 years’ experience in global sourcing, procurement, business development and grower relations. Her prior employment included National Supply Manager at ENZA, Ltd, New Zealand, and managerial development roles at both Eurofresh Farms and Frieda’s Inc. Cris also worked in the citrus industry with such companies as Sunkist, Sun World and Dole Citrus. She is a 5th generation member of a family citrus orchard and a graduate of California State Polytechnic University with a BS in Agricultural Business Management. Cris currently serves on the Board of Directors of Washington State Council of Farmer Cooperatives and is a member of following: PLU Assignment Committee – Apple/Pear; US Apple Association’s Industry Informational Committee; and Northwest Horticultural Council’s Science Advisory Committee.
Ken Janes, Vice President Quality and Technical Services
Ken has more than 20 years of experience in creating quality systems across multiple manufacturing locations. He has extensive experience as a leader working across multi-disciplinary teams on continuous improvement efforts to ensure customer expectations are met. Ken joins us from DSM Nutritional Products, a 100-year old $5 billion global manufacturer of nutritional products, material sciences, and pharmaceutical products where he’s worked since 2008 directing a large staff and budget. His track record working on a product line with $450 million in annual sales making significant quality improvements and ensuring compliance is impressive. Prior to DSM, Ken held a variety of progressively more responsible positions within well-known food processing companies such as Florida’s Natural and Cargill Juice. Ken obtained a Master of Science in Microbiology from the University of Southern Florida, Tampa, after completing his B.S. in Biology there. He is an Advanced SQF Practitioner, a Certified HACCP Manager, and has training or certifications in Food Allergens and Solutions, Aseptic Processing and Packaging and more. He is a current member of the Institute of Food Technologists, American Society of Microbiology and the International Association of Food Protection.
Gary Price, Vice President Operations
Gary joined Tree Top in May 2007, as the director of Operations responsible for manufacturing, production, and safety. Soon after, he was promoted to VP and acquired management responsibilities for Quality and Food Safety, Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Process Research, and Contract Manufacturing. Gary brought extensive food processing industry experience, from most recently, The Western Sugar Cooperative where he was vice president Operations for five years and had responsibilities for five factories and six distribution facilities over a four state area. He holds a BS degree in Engineering from North Dakota State University.
Monica Taylor, Vice President Supply Chain
Monica joined Tree Top in 2017 bringing with her more than a decade of supply chain experience in the food industry, with a strong background in integrated business planning, procurement, inventory management and distribution. Prior to Tree Top, Monica worked for Cargill, the largest privately held corporation in the United States, where she held a number of roles which included aligning and improving sales and operations planning globally. She has a BA in Speech Communication and Business Management from Oregon State University where she played on the women’s softball team.
Scott Washburn, Vice President Human Resources
Scott joined Tree Top in 2004 as the Director of Human Resources and has served as Vice President since 2009. He brings over 20+ years of human resource and change leadership experience in multiple industry sectors including manufacturing, health care, business process outsourcing, and social service non-profit. Over the past 20 years, Scott has served in multiple leadership capacities at the local, state, regional, and national level for the Society for Human Resources Management, the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management representing over 300,000 members in 165 countries, and is currently serving as a Director on the Board of Directors for HR People + Strategy. He earned his B.S. in Business Administration with specialization in Human Resources Management from Central Washington University and is a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) by the Society for Human Resources Management.
Chris Hannigan, Vice President, CPG/Foodservice Sales & Marketing
Christopher (Chris) Hannigan is a talented and seasoned executive with over 25 years of experience in marketing/sales, management and strategy. He brings a wealth of expertise having managed many of America’s favorite brands such as Capri Sun, JELL-O, Del Monte, Marie’s Salad Dressing, and a large assortment of Private Label offerings. Chris’ particular strengths are in areas such as brand positioning, new product introductions & innovation, P&L management, team development and long-term strategy development. With an abundance of retail food & beverage experience in multiple categories, Chris has a strong understanding of various channels of retail trade and distribution systems in North America.
Chris received his B.A. in Journalism at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX and his M.B.A. from Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, AZ
Sally Welk, Vice President, Ingredient Sales
Sally Welk joined Tree Top in April of 2020 bringing over 20 years of sales leadership experience in the food manufacturing, distribution, retail, and food service channels.
Sally has held several senior leadership roles in the food industry including National Accounts Director with Mars working in the food service and distribution channels, Director of Food Manufacturing and Applications for Cargill Cocoa & Chocolate leading the sales and technical service teams in North America, and most recently as Senior Director of Sales for Ardent Mills with responsibility for sales to both ingredient and retail customers.
Sally graduated from the University of Richmond in Richmond, VA with a BA in Speech Communication and Political Science.