Leadership

John Martinelli

Chairman of the Board

With Martinelli's Since 1979 and represents the fourth generation leader of the company.

John Martinelli was born in 1957 at the old Watsonville Community Hospital on Montecito Ave. He is a descendant of the Martinelli and Silliman families, two of the Pajaro Valley’s earliest pioneers who settled there in the 1850s.

John attended Salsipuedes Elementary school from K-8 grades and then graduated from Watsonville High school in 1975. He graduated with a BA in Economics from Stanford University in 1979.

Later that year, John began his career as Assistant Manager of the family business. Over 36 years, he has held various positions including Plant Manager, Sales Manager, General Manager, Vice President, President and currently as CEO. During his tenure, the company has grown by more than ten times, bringing both national recognition and economic benefits to Watsonville.

John has served in many community and nonprofit organizations. In addition to coaching K through 6th grade YMCA basketball and Little League for 17 years, where he also served as Treasurer, he was President/Chairman of the board of directors for the Watsonville Community Hospital, the Central Coast Health Insurance Trust Fund and T.H.A.N.K.S., a local agricultural scholarship foundation, and was a member of the Saint Francis Central Coast high school and Moreland Notre Dame elementary Capital Campaign Steering Committees, Little Helpers, Action Pajaro Valley (APV), the Pajaro River Flood Protection Task Force/Finance Committee, and the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PVWMA) Basin Management Plan Community Advisory Group and Finance Committee.

Gun Ruder

President and Chief Executive Officer

With Martinelli's Since 2013

Gun is President and CEO at S. Martinelli & Company and is driving its business growth for the future. He brings a wealth of knowledge and diverse business background to the position.

Gun was most recently a Regional Director for Canyon-Agassi Charter School Facilities Fund, a $220 million real estate private equity fund focused on developing campuses for best-in-class charter schools across the country. Gun was part of the founding team that developed the core business model, established the financial model, and built the operating infrastructure to support it. As Regional Director, he identified real estate transactions, developed underwriting criteria for prospective clients, established operating pro forma and critical metrics for portfolio deals, and acted as the primary liaison with lenders--both construction lenders and long-term bond underwriters.

Prior to Canyon-Agassi, Gun was the President of Agassi Graf Holdings, which provides business management services for Andre Agassi and Stefanie Graf. In this role, he was responsible for direct investments, real estate development, and financial management for the overall business, including oversight of the Andre Agassi College Prep Academy as the Andre Agassi Foundation Finance Committee Chair. Prior to AGH, Gun worked for MBNA as a senior member of its internal strategy group developing financial products for consumers and small businesses. Before joining MBNA, he was a strategy consultant for McKinsey & Company in the financial services and private equity industries in New York City and worked in Tokyo, Japan for Nippon Steel, managing global infrastructure development projects.

Gun holds an MBA from Stanford University and is a cum laude graduate of Georgetown University.

Dana Jones

Chief Financial Officer

With Martinelli's Since 2019

Dana Jones is CFO of S. Martinelli & Company with 30+ years experience in the Finance, Strategy and Supply Chain functions within the Food and Beverage Industry.  He was most recently CFO at Lundberg Family Farms with prior experience at Fortune 500 companies including ConAgra Brands, Kraft Foods and SABMiller. Dana holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from the Claremont Graduate University, Drucker School of Management and a Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Political Science from the University of La Verne. Dana is a Certified Management Accountant.

Mark Mizuki

Vice President of Operations, Engineering and Maintenance

With Martinelli's Since 2008

Mark Mizuki leads the Manufacturing, Engineering and Maintenance teams at Martinelli’s. After graduating from California State University– Sacramento with a degree in Business Administration, Mark progressed in various management roles at major CPG organizations including McCormick, ConAgra, and Chiquita Fresh before joining Martinelli’s. Mark’s 40+ years of manufacturing experience includes leadership roles in materials management, production, transportation, distribution, and warehousing as well as leading Total Quality Management and Continuous Improvement initiatives.

Courtney Lynch

Vice President of Sales

With Martinelli’s Since 2024

Courtney Lynch leads the sales function at S. Martinelli & Company. She has 20+ years of CPG experience in both general management and sales leadership and has spent most of her career with mission-driven and values-led businesses while with Clif Bar and Patagonia. Most recently, she led sales at two emerging food and beverage brand start-ups in the protein bar and dairy categories. Courtney received a BA in Journalism from Colorado State University and a Masters of Business Administration from University of Denver’s Daniels School of Business.

Scott Lee

Vice President of Marketing

With Martinelli’s Since 2023

Scott Lee leads the Marketing function at S. Martinelli & Company. He has 20+ years of CPG and food & beverage marketing experience including senior leadership roles at Fortune 500 companies General Mills and Danone. Most recently, he has led marketing at food & beverage start-ups Ripple Foods and Rebel Creamery. Scott received a BA in Marketing Communications from Brigham Young University and a Masters of Business Administration from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business.

Jennifer Madrid

Senior Director, Human Resources

With Martinelli’s Since 2021

Jennifer Madrid leads the Human Resources function at Martinelli’s with 20+ years of HR experience in the food processing and agricultural products arenas. Jennifer graduated from the University of Phoenix while growing her career at Nestlé Ice Cream Company and gained valuable experience in the fields of human resources, safety, and environmental regulations. While working at Wonderful Citrus, Jennifer continued to grow her career and gained expertise in the areas of benefits, workers’ compensation, HR Information systems, and performance management. Jennifer is a champion of developing people and is committed to building diverse teams and an inclusive culture.

Where We Maintain the Gold Standard

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