Compac Appoints Head of Global Services to Meet Growing Post-Harvest Industry Needs

Compac Appoints Head of Global Service to Meet Growing Post-Harvest Industry Needs

PRESS RELEASE - AUCKLAND, New Zealand and Orange County, Calif. May 18, 2016 – Compac, a leader in post-harvest integrated solutions and services to the global fresh produce industry, today announced it has appointed Darrell Smithson to the role of VP Global Services, effective immediately. Smithson was most recently Vice President, Managed Services, with Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management and automation.

An engineer by training, Smithson brings more than 25 years of international experience to this newly created role. He will lead all aspects of Compac’s global services business, including the development and roll-out of new service offerings (managed services, systems integration and professional services), sales engineering, technical in-field support services, project management and implementation, customer support and Compac U(niversity). Based in Orange County, Smithson will report to Mike Riley, Compac’s Chief Executive Officer, and will serve as a member of the company’s executive leadership team.

“I am delighted to have such a seasoned [industrial and technology] services professional joining us at Compac to round out our leadership team.” Riley said. “Darrell’s appointment is another key milestone for Compac and is critical to fulfilling our strategic plan to grow a world-class global services business and further establish our leadership presence in the U.S., one of our largest markets.”

“I am excited to be joining Compac at such a pivotal point in its evolution,” said Smithson. “I have been impressed with the extensive and enduring customer relationships they have built on a global basis, and I look forward to leading a world-class service offering, and helping Compac become the strategic partner of choice for all of its customers’ evolving post-harvest needs.”

At Schneider, Smithson served as Vice President, Managed Services USA, a newly created division, which specialized in providing comprehensive services to some of Schneider’s most strategic customers on a global basis. Prior to that role, he served as VP Strategy, Global Solutions, the business unit responsible for Software and Services globally within Schneider. Previous to this Smithson served in a variety of sales, operations, strategy and client service leadership roles at Schneider.

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About Compac

Compac provides integrated post-harvest solutions and services to the global fresh produce industry. The company’s mission is to enable its customers improve returns, gain operational efficiencies and ensure a safe food supply via the application of smart, useable technologies. To achieve this Compac operates a number of centers of excellence, regional offices and manufacturing locations within the United States, Europe, South America, Asia, Africa and Australasia.