Battaglia Leaves Fleming Cos.
taglia, who was recently named director of produce merchandising for Fleming Cos. here, has left the company.
Battaglia was vice president of produce merchandising at Scrivner, also based here, at the time Fleming acquired Scrivner last July. He was named to the position at Fleming shortly after the deal was completed.
Michael Hawkins, vice president of produce operations at Fleming, said a replacement for Battaglia has not been announced. Battaglia serves on the board of directors of the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association, Alexandria, Va. A spokeswoman for United said hi's position on the board will not be affected by his resignation.
Bours Replaces Cabal at Del Monte
CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Eduardo Bours, a Mexican businessman, last week was named chairman of Del Monte Fresh Produce Co. here, replacing Carlos Cabal Peniche, who is believed to have fled Mexico in September after government officials there accused him of fraud.
The move will have no effect on Del Monte Fresh's working relationship with American retailers, according to Bette Jane McCabe, a spokeswoman for the company. Del Monte Fresh is a major supplier of fresh pineapple, melons and tomatoes to U.S. supermarkets.
Regarding the situation with Cabal, "That is off to the side as far as working relationships with customers," she said.
In a statement, Del Monte Fresh praised Bours' "wealth of experience." Bours, who was elected at a shareholders meeting in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, Nov. 7, and was also named a managing director, served as chairman of Mexico's National Agricultural and Livestock Council until July.
Before that, he represented the Mexican private agribusiness sector during North American Free Trade Agreement talks and is a board member of several Mexican financial institutions, the company said.
Cabal, a prominent financier in Mexico, purchased Del Monte Fresh in November 1992 with the investor group Cremi-Union. He also made a deal to acquire Del Monte's canned food business, based in San Francisco, for $277 million and $700 million in assumed debts, with plans to merge the two operations. Cabal was accused of fraudulently lending himself between $200 million and $700 million, some of which authorities believe he used to purchase the produce company.
