Mitolo Family Farms has appointed John Tselekidis to the newly created role of Chief Commercial Officer.

Executive Chairman Tim Lee said the new position of Chief Commercial Officer was another important step in the growth evolution of Mitolo Family Farms.

“As Australia’s category leader in potatoes and onions, we have to be agile to respond to changing market dynamics and continue to build on our existing strong retail relationships,” he said.

“In this new role, John will be responsible for developing and leading our commercial strategy to grow our business across each of our channels, building on his current responsibilities to assume the total oversight of our sales and operations planning.”

Mr Tselekidis has been at Mitolo Family Farms for six years, most recently as the group’s Head of Sales and Marketing. Prior to joining Mitolo, he held senior roles at Mars, Coles and Nestlé and is said to be one of the most respected commercial managers in Australia’s agribusiness sector.

“We’re delighted John has accepted this role as his experience and strategic lens will be instrumental in supporting our short and long-term goals,” Mr Lee said.

Mitolo Family Farms grows 200,000 tonnes of potatoes and 60,000 tonnes of onions each year and operates farming properties and packaging facilities across 40,000 hectares in South Australia and New South Wales.

With cropping areas benefiting from favourable weather conditions over the past couple of months, the company is now preparing for a major rebound from recent potato shortages heading into the busy Christmas period.

“I’m really excited at the opportunities for growth, both across our traditional channels and emerging markets,” said Mr Tselekidis.

“We have a great team and strong backing which is enabling us to continue our focus on delivering the highest quality potato and onions but also looking ahead to what’s possible for Mitolo Family Farms.”