New regional manager Bob Catinella. Courtesy of Pear Bureau Northwest

New regional manager Bob Catinella.
Courtesy of Pear Bureau Northwest

Bob Catinella has joined the Pear Bureau Northwest as regional marketing manager in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States.

Catinella has 27 years of experience in retail marketing and sales and most recently was manager of retail sales for the specialty food distributor Progressive Gourmet. While there, he helped boost sales by developing strategies for national accounts that included Costco, Kroger, Safeway, Walmart, and Whole Foods.

Catinella studied business management and computer science at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. He is based in Sudbury, Massachusetts. A sports enthusiast, he participates in the Pan Mass Challenge, a 185-mile, two-day bike ride to raise money for the battle against cancer. His territory for the Pear Bureau covers Connecticut, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The Pear Bureau represents 1,600 growers in Washington and Oregon, who produce 84% of the U.S. fresh pear crop.