Mission Produce Co-Founder Barnard to Step Down as CEO

Dow Jones12-19

By Katherine Hamilton

Mission Produce's co-founder and long-time Chief Executive Steve Barnard is stepping down.

The Oxnard, Calif., avocado producer said Thursday that Chief Operating Officer John Pawlowski would succeed Barnard after the company's annual shareholder meeting in April.

Barnard co-founded Mission in 1983 and has served as chief executive since 1988. He will transition to executive chairman, where he will support Mission's strategic direction and work closely with Pawlowski.

Pawlowski joined Mission in April 2024 as president and chief operating officer. He has more than 25 years of experience in the global food and food-service industry.

Before coming to Mission, Pawlowski served as operating chief of the independent distributor Lipari Foods. He also spent 16 years at J.M. Smucker in a variety of leadership positions, including vice president of international.

Mission plans to pay Pawlowski an annual base salary of at least $750,000, plus various incentives. He is also eligible for an equity grant of $2 million.

In 2024, Barnard earned total compensation of $3.5 million and Pawlowski made about $2.1 million.

Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 18, 2025 16:32 ET (21:32 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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He has more than 25 years of experience in the global food and food-service industry. \n\n\n  Before coming to Mission, Pawlowski served as operating chief of the independent distributor Lipari Foods. He also spent 16 years at J.M. Smucker in a variety of leadership positions, including vice president of international. \n\n\n  Mission plans to pay Pawlowski an annual base salary of at least $750,000, plus various incentives. 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