Crains New York - September 17, 2012 - (Page 8)

PEOPLE BUSINESS of Fortune 500 CEOs have no presence on social networks Source: 2012 CEO.com Social CEO Report 70% EXECUTIVE MOVES Westmed Practice Partners: Anthony Viceroy, 43, joined the health care management services company as chief financial officer. He was previously global president and chief financial officer at Porter Novelli. Fareportal Inc.: Mark Drusch, 52, joined the travel technology company as chief supply relations officer. He was previously executive vice president at e-Rewards, and president and chief executive at e-Miles. Studley: Evan Margolin, 40, was promoted to senior managing director at the real estate services firm. He was previously an associate. Hunter Roberts Construction Group: Christopher Phillips, 53, joined the company as senior vice president and chief marketing officer, a newly created position. He was previously senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Tishman Realty & Construction/AECOM Construction Services. Henry Schein Inc.: Carol Raphael, 70, joined the health care services and product provider’s board of directors. She was previously president and chief executive of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. TAG Associates: Jonathan M. Bergman, 37, joined the wealth management firm as managing director. He was previously chief investment officer at Palisades Hudson Financial Group. St. Patrick’s Cathedral: Loual Pouliafito, 30, joined as director of development, a newly created position. He was previously director of development at Monsignor Farrell High School. Siegel+Gale: Russ Meyer, 50, joined the branding firm as global strategy director. He was previously global chief strategy officer at Landor Associates. Horizon Engineering Associates: William Mathewson, 34, was promoted to director of energy services at the commissioning firm, a newly created position. He was previously senior engineer. Spector Group: Jeff Fells, 40, joined the architecture, planning and design firm as director of business development, a newly created position. He was previously vice president of real estate and corporate sales at Empire Office. BDO USA: Adam Cole, 44, was promoted to Greater New York health care and nonprofit office business line leader at the professional services firm. He was previously a partner. Brian Eccleston, 52, was promoted to Northeast assurance regional business line leader. He was previously New York assurance office business line BIG PRODUCER: Daniel Spitz’s passion for fruit has paid off. His sweet mangosteens sell for $25 a pound. buck ennis GOTHAM GIGS How ’bout them pineapples? Gourmet grocer Daniel Spitz’s not-so-still life He gladly traveled far and wide in search of fine fruit. ‘This business is like a drug’ Fruitmonger Daniel Spitz sure can pick ’em. ¶ The 84-year-old pioneer in the gourmet-food movement has devoted a lifetime to pursuing the world’s finest oranges, plums and other produce. He opened his grocery store, the Orchard, in Brooklyn’s Midwood neighborhood in 1957 with just $500—an amount that today barely buys five of the fruit shop’s bountiful baskets of mango, melon and strawberries. ¶ “My price was always higher than anyone else’s,” said Mr. Spitz, who makes no bones about a $4 peach. “But if someone ever looked at my fruit, they’d want to buy it.” ¶ Just ask former President Jimmy Carter, who ordered 50 boxes of Orchard pineapples for his inauguration party. And each year, scores of gourmands beyond Brooklyn make a pilgrimage to the Coney Island Avenue shop. ¶ Throughout his 55-year career, Mr. Spitz has shown a willingness to do whatever it takes to find that perfect piece of fruit. When the Orchard opened, he’d go to a fruit auction held outside the Battery Tunnel in Manhattan at 3 a.m. to rifle through boxes of plums, apples and melons. He flew to Hawaii in the 1960s to bring some of the first fresh pineapples back to the Big Apple. And he’s even made trips to farms in California and Florida to survey their soil and trees. “They called me the Department of Agriculture,” said Mr. Spitz. ¶ These days, his 2,000-square-foot storefront is home to a host of rare and exotic fruits—California white apricots called snowcots, donut peaches, elephant plums. Ever try a mangosteen, a sweet and tangy fruit from Indonesia best eaten wearing a bib? At $25 a pound, it’s an expensive habit—one Mr. Spitz has no intention of quitting anytime soon. ¶ “This business,” he said, “is like a drug.” —shane dixon kavanaugh 8 | Crain’s New York Business | September 17, 2012 http://www.CEO.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - September 17, 2012

IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
BUSINESS PEOPLE
OPINION
GREG DAVID
SMALL BUSINESS
REPORT: REAL ESTATE
THE LIST
REAL ESTATE DEALS
FOR THE RECORD
CLASSIFIEDS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crains New York - September 17, 2012