Caldwell Recruits Chief Commercial Officer for PRT Growing Services
December 1, 2022 – Jay Millen and Jeff Freeborough of Toronto-based Caldwell recently assisted in the recruitment of Collin Phillip as the new chief commercial officer of PRT Growing Services.
Mr. Phillip was previously country manager, Canada for AgVend. In this role, he was responsible for building out the Canadian-based team for this leading B2B agtech company. He was accountable for supporting the acquisition, onboarding, and ongoing support of AgVend’s Canadian retail partners. Before that, he was a general manager for Corteva Agriscience. Prior to that, Mr. Phillip was director of supply chain, Canada, for Monsanto Co.
In his new position with PRT, Mr. Phillip will lead the commercial (sales and marketing) organization for the global leader in containerized seedling production. In partnership with the CEO and executive team, he will develop and execute on a strategic plan in an effort to rapidly grow the business.
PRT Growing Services Ltd and PRT USA Inc. are a forest seedling propagator and the largest producer of container-grown forest seedlings in North America, currently growing more than 300 million seedlings annually and operating a network of forest seedling nurseries in the U.S. and Canada.
Mr. Millen is managing partner of Caldwell’s CEO and board practice and leads its Charleston office team. Working with publicly-traded and privately-held companies, he assists clients in senior-level recruitment and in the development of board and CEO succession plans as well as industry specific leaders at all levels in the natural resources and manufacturing sectors. Mr. Millen also has an extensive not-for-profit background at the board and senior executive level.
Caldwell Recruits President and CEO for Rocky Mountaineer
Caldwell has assisted in the recruitment of David McKenna as president and chief executive officer of Rocky Mountaineer in Vancouver, Canada, Drew Railton, Les Gombik, John Davidson, Tim Bostick, Natalie Stones and Meghan Harrelson led the assignment. “Rocky Mountaineer is an iconic tourism experience, a global champion, so it is fitting we have a tourism visionary, champion and innovator as our new president and CEO,” said John Furlong, chair, board of directors, Rocky Mountaineer. “Over a distinguished career, David has demonstrated his passion, dedication, and resolve for advancing tourism, and we now look forward to David bringing these traits, and more, to the team. We are in the process of building this company to be stronger, more resilient, and more impactful than ever before.”
Mr. Freeborough is managing partner of Caldwell’s Toronto office and is a member of the firm’s leader team. He is a key member of the financial services and professional services practices, and is also an active member of the data, digital and technology and private equity and venture capital practice teams. Mr. Freeborough specializes in building management teams and boards of directors with an emphasis on transformation – specifically surrounding growth, scale-up, ownership transition, financing/capitalization, transaction, restructuring, and culture shift.
Chief Commercial Officer Recruiting
The CCO is essentially responsible for the commercial strategy and the development of an organization. The role typically involves activities relating to marketing, sales, product development and customer service to drive business growth and market share. As a corporate officer, the CCO generally reports directly to the CEO and is charged with ensuring the integrated commercial success of an organization. The role typically combines technical knowledge of the relevant field with strong marketing and business development skills.
A CCO in large part takes ownership of the customer and the customer interface with the product or service offering, making sure that all functions of the organization are aligned to meet its strategic commercial objectives. This means that the role is closely linked to the organization’s strategic management function, in drafting, implementing, and evaluating cross-functional decisions that enable an organization to achieve its long-term objectives.
Related: Slone Partners Recruits Chief Commercial Officer for Argonaut Manufacturing Services
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
