Walt Breeden brings more than 25 years of produce industry experience to his role of Sales Manager for Western Canada & Citrus Category Manager for Canada. He also directs our citrus category in Canada, concentrating on mandarin oranges grown in Japan, Korea and China.

Walt came to our company in 1987 and began selling California-grown fruit and vegetables into Western Canada. Over time, Walt's marketing role grew, and he began working with New Zealand pipfruit and kiwifruit, and a range of other imported and domestic items. In the mid-1990s, Walt became the leader of our Japanese mandarin business -- building demand for the sweet, easy-peeling oranges we have proudly marketed to North Americans for more than 120 years. He also was instrumental in bringing the first novelty Japanese square watermelon to Canada in 2002.

For the decade leading to his tenure with Oppenheimer, Walt was a produce buyer for Woodward Stores in Vancouver, B.C.

Walt currently serves as a director of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association (CPMA) and is the 2006 convention chairman. He also is a director of the British Columbia Produce Marketing Association (BCPMA) and served as a past president of that organization for six years.

Walt is married with two teen-aged sons.