WCN Dec e

View from the Top
‘The Role of the CEO Has Greatly Changed’
A Conversation with Blue Diamond's Mark Jansen
By CATHERINE MERLO | Contributing Writer
Note from the Editor: This new series in West Coast Nut magazine called “View
from the Top” will feature high profile industry executives and their thoughts on
leadership, markets and the future of the industry.
As one of the biggest players in
the global almond market, Blue
Diamond Growers can rightly
credit CEO Mark Jansen for much of
its recent success. But, as Jansen shares
here, the past 21 months haven’t been
easy, and there’s still plenty of work
ahead.
Since he arrived as CEO in 2010,
Jansen has helped transform Blue
Diamond Growers into a $1.75 billion
global food manufacturer.
The Sacramento-based cooperative
has become the leading shipper of
California almonds into the U.S., India,
China and many other countries. In
2020, Blue Diamond was named one
of the nation’s 10 fastest-growing food
companies for the fourth consecutive
year. Its brand is recognized globally,
and its Almond Breeze product, sold
in 100 countries, is the world’s No. 1
almond milk. And the co-op has done
all of this as California set record highs
for almond production.
But even as Blue Diamond enjoys
its success, new challenges are emerging
for the 111-year-old company like
everywhere else. The statewide drought,
water scarcity and the myriad effects
of the COVID-19 pandemic are forcing
business leaders like Jansen to rethink
their approaches to operations,
markets and the future. With 3,000
grower-members, 1,800 employees and
a global customer base, there’s a lot at
stake for Blue Diamond.
“We’re not pessimistic,” Jansen said
in an interview for West Coast Nut.
“But my frustration is our industry
could be so much better if some of the
underlying issues could be solved.”
Q: How are the port congestion
and supply-chain disruptions
affecting Blue Diamond?
Our average shipping order over
the past 18 months has been booked
three times. The sad truth is up to 50%
to 55% of the containers are leaving
Oakland empty, which is just shocking
to me. The berths are there if you can
effectively manage and get through
that. We’ve also seen about 3% cost
inflation over the past year from port
and supply chain issues alone. I don’t
see that going away. My fear is that it’s
actually increasing.
One of our advantages is that we’ve
been a major exporter out of the Port of
Oakland for decades. In fact, roughly
60% of our sales are exports. We’re a
big player. But also because we’re a coop,
we are strong on partnerships. We
look for win-win solutions. We’ve been
working with our suppliers, freight
forwarders and shippers to find ways to
become their best customers.
Blue Diamond has the creativity and the
people to get through the industry’s
challenges, says CEO Mark Jansen (all
photos courtesy Blue Diamond.)
Q: What would you like to see
done about the problem?
What I would love to see happen,
and this is not a short-term fix, is that
important changes, like ports operating
24/7, are truly in place. That needs to
happen consistently throughout the
entire port system.
We need to also think about the
availability of trucking. Very few trucks
can actually service the ports, either
because of unionization of truckers or
more likely because of California state
regulations that limit much of the nation’s
trucking workforce from coming
into California or particularly the ports.
If the ports aren’t working, that sends
ripples throughout the U.S. So, we need
to find ways to ensure that we have adequate
resources with the transportation
structure.
The other big wish I have, and this
is a federal issue, is that we develop
Jansen considers his biggest success as CEO to be creating a shared sense of purpose
between Blue Diamond’s employees and growers.
12 West Coast Nut December 2021