Announcing our new CEO!

Hi all,

Rob here. First off, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your continued support of local farmers, ranchers, and food makers. One hundred percent of the energy and money you spend at Farm Link Hawaiʻi helps to strengthen small local food producers and build the thriving food system we all want to see. We founded Farm Link six years ago to connect the community to the best local producers and highest quality food in Hawaiʻi. Your patience and support over the last year fill me with tremendous hope of what we can accomplish in the coming years. Over the next few months, we’ll be growing our team to significantly expand our local product offerings, increase equitable access to local food, and work closely with our producers to help them grow.

I’m writing today to share with you a very exciting announcement: Claire Sullivan, my longtime advisor and friend, will be joining Farm Link on October 11th. Claire is a fantastic human, strategic thinker, and is deeply passionate about growing the Hawaiʻi food system. She’s worked in food for over 15 years, most recently supporting the momentous expansion of MAʻO Organic Farms (one of Farm Link’s best organic produce suppliers). Before that, she spent 10 years at Whole Foods Market, building out a Hawaiʻi procurement program of 300 local suppliers, and managing the Kahala store. She first got involved in agriculture at Maui Land & Pineapple Company, where she encountered the challenges of navigating to a diversified and equitable post-plantation food system.

Claire will be taking over as Farm Link’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO)—which happens to be my current title. But, don’t worry I’m not going anywhere. (Hey, these emails aren’t going to write themselves!) I am as dedicated as ever to helping Farm Link achieve its mission of increasing local food production and consumption in Hawaiʻi. It’s become clear that Farm Link needs someone at the helm with Claire’s unique combinations of skills and passion for us to accomplish all of our big goals. And, I truly believe there is no one on the planet better suited to lead Farm Link to realize that vision than Claire.

I will be transitioning to Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Farm Link. I spent 20 years working on software and I’m excited to better utilize my background to improve your experience as a Farm Link customer. I’ll be working on technology solutions to help the rest of the Farm Link team roll out shorter delivery windows, tighter quality control, and a better shopping experience.

And, now a word from Claire: Aloha! I am totally thrilled to be joining the Farm Link team and look forward to working with you as co-producers (in Slow Food parlance) to grow a flourishing Hawaiʻi food system. I greatly respect Rob and the tremendous job he’s done to establish Farm Link. I’m delighted to get to work alongside him (and his technology superpowers!) and the whole Farm Link team to scale and strengthen the company. We know you’re hungry for more good local food and I can’t wait to help bring more farms to your fingertips.
That’s all for now. Thank you for being a part of Farm Link Hawaiʻi ʻOhana.

Rob & Claire