George started RipeLocker shortly after selling Pace International, a company he owned for 12 years. During his tenure at Pace, the company rose from a minor player to the world leader in post-harvest treatment of pome, citrus and stone fruit. George has held Board positions with numerous companies and foundations, including NeoVision, B-Line LLC, Agrofresh and the Washington State Investment Board. He has also served as a part-time lecturer at the University of Washington School of Business, and is a member of Washington State Bar Association (inactive). He lives with his wife, Nancy, on Bainbridge Island, Washington, and enjoys cycling, skiing and fly fishing in his spare time. George’s favorite fruit? Berries.

Brendon holds a B.S. in Environmental Science, an M.S. in Horticulture, and a PhD in Horticulture. Brendon received his M.S. from Washington State University, where his research was focused on optimizing management and quality for ‘WA38,’ aka ‘Cosmic Crisp.’ During his PhD and postdoctoral fellowship in Horticulture at Colorado State University, his research was focused on understanding peach fruit quality development and its connection with its molecular and biochemical characteristics. Brendon has extensive applied and industry-oriented research experience in fruit physiology, quality and metabolomics. He is an active member in the American and International Societies of Horticultural Sciences. Brendon enjoys camping, hiking, and paddle boarding with his dog. His favorite fruit? Palisade peaches.

Mallory obtained her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia where she was a 4-year letter winner on the women’s lacrosse team. She completed her master’s degree in accounting at the University of Virginia before beginning her career at Deloitte and becoming a licensed CPA. Since transitioning out of public accounting, Mallory has helped run and scale finance and accounting teams, led due diligence efforts, and supported IPOs at various organizations including The Common Application (501(c)(3)), Smartsheet (NYSE: SMAR), Quantum Corporation (NASDAQ: QMCO), and Greenhouse Software (pre-IPO).

Mallory is an animal lover and lives on a small farm on Bainbridge Island with her horse, Benji (with whom she competes in show jumping), her wheaten terrier, Cleo, and lots of honeybees. She also serves on the Board of Trustees at Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center in Redmond, WA. Her favorite fruit is a cold gala apple.

Joel arrives at RipeLocker with a background in product development and engineering leadership from a variety of startups and established companies spanning the deep ocean to the low atmosphere. Always interested in seeing engineering better the world, his recent projects include measuring climate change and ocean acidification at Sea-Bird Scientific, assisting anti-poaching operations in Africa with unmanned aerial systems at Vulcan, and now developing novel ways to preserve food. In his free time, Joel enjoys bicycling, wrenching on ancient Volvos, and cooking. He holds a B.S. in Mathematics, a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering, and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington. His favorite fruit is the Amarelle cherry.

Builds the analysis enabling commercial and growth decisions. Previously fundraising, strategy, and product at Shiru (AI foodtech startup), Office of the CEO at GE Ventures, and finance at GE Capital. Kellogg MBA. Her favorite fruit is the gold flesh kiwi.

Damon has more than 25 years of experience working in operations, business development and sales roles in the produce industry. Prior to joining RipeLocker, he was director of sales and field service at Pace International for nine years. Before that, he was operations manager at Grimmway Enterprises for ten years where he managed citrus operations and was responsible for profit and loss, training and inventory control. His career in produce started with an operations manager role at Dole Fresh Fruit Corporation for six years where he was responsible for all operations including refrigeration, purchasing, logistics and facilities maintenance. He lives with his wife, Motoko, on Bainbridge Island and enjoys hiking, mountain biking and fishing. His favorite fruit is blueberries.