Patrick McCullough is the new CEO of Los Angeles-based ProducePay, succeeding co-founder Pablo Borquez Schwarzbeck, who was CEO since he founded the company with Ben Dusastre in 2014. A fourth-generation farmer, Borquez Schwarzbeck is now executive director of the board, and Dusastre is a board member, according to a news release.
ProducePay has a digital platform that makes the market more directly accessible to growers. The company also offers financial solutions, trade protection and a carbon offset program. These role changes follow a breakout year of accelerated growth and commercial milestones.
Before his CEO appointment, McCullough was a board member and advisor to ProducePay for two years. He has more than 25 years of corporate experience and deep expertise in international business development, structuring and joint ventures from leadership positions held at startups and Fortune 500 companies such as Ford Motor Co., Berkshire Hathaway and Just Energy.
“Patrick’s prior experience as CEO, his expertise in customer acquisition and his intimate knowledge of our business, products and mission make the perfect combination of skills to take ProducePay to new heights,” Borquez Schwarzbeck said in the release. “With Patrick helming the leadership team, ProducePay will accelerate its expansion exponentially in current and new markets and advance its mission to further transform the global produce industry.”
As a board member and advisor, McCullough played a vital role in ProducePay's capital raising and more than quadrupling the platform’s gross merchandise value to almost $4 billion in the past two years, according to the release. As CEO, he will continue to scale the business, while partnering with Borquez Schwarzbeck and the board to deliver customer and shareholder value.
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“I’ve been incredibly fortunate to … witness firsthand how this online marketplace profoundly benefits produce sellers and buyers,” McCullough said.
Since ProducePay’s founding in 2014, Borquez Schwarzbeck raised $500 million in equity and debt capital while being a staunch advocate for empowering farmers by giving them direct access to market and financial solutions. In his new role, Borquez Schwarzbeck will continue to help guide the company’s vision and spend more time listening to customers and advising ProducePay on its services and offerings.
Also, co-founder Dusastre will step down as ProducePay’s president to continue his passion for supporting startup companies. He will still be a member of ProducePay’s board and part of the company’s credit committee.
“Ben has been an amazing partner from ProducePay’s inception and has been a driving force behind the company’s growth. It has been an incredible journey for us to get to where we are now, and he will continue to be instrumental to the company’s future success,” Borquez Schwarzbeck continued.
These leadership changes come at the end of a banner 2022 year for ProducePay. In all, the company grew year-over-year by 85% and grew overall transactions on its marketplace by 279% — driven by continued growth in North America and launches in new markets in Central and South America, according to the release. In the past year, ProducePay also launched a quick-pay financing service on its platform and a carbon offset program for its grower customers.