(Des Moines, November 28, 2008) Family-owned fresh produce distributor Capital City Fruit Company announced the successful leadership transition to the 3^rd generation of Comitos. The family business began in 1949 with Joseph T. Comito. His son, Joseph M. Comito, worked at Capital City Fruit and became president in 1975 following the death of his father, the founder of the company. Now, after 30 years of successfully leading the business, three of Joe Comito’s sons, Brendan, Christian, and Kieran have purchased his shares and have equal interests in the business.

 

“I once heard it said that you spend the first half of your life trying to be successful and the second half trying to be significant,” shared Joe Comito. “For me, part of that significance has now been realized with the successful transition of our Capital City Fruit livelihood to the next generation of Comitos. As a company leader I am confident in their commitment to providing exceptional quality produce and taking good care of our loyal customers and employees. And as a father I am proud of these young, hard-working men who happen to be my sons.” 

 

Christian Comito, age 37, has had the role of CEO for the past four years, Brendan Comito, 41, is the Chief Operations Officer, and Kieran Comito, 40, will continue in his role as Produce Account Executive.

 

“This has been a thoughtful and well-planned transition. 15 years ago my brothers and I started purchasing shares from our father and five years ago we began running the day-to -day operations,” explained Capital City Fruit CEO, Christian Comito. “We made a vow to our father and that same vow is extended to our customers and employees that we will continue the tradition and commitment of providing exceptional fresh produce.”

 

Under Joe Comito’s leadership the company grew from six to 120 employees. He purchased the current warehouse facility in Norwalk, Iowa, where countless investments were made in adding to and expanding the operation. One of the most significant was the decision to get into tomato repacking in the late 1970s. Now the company handles over 100 different produce items on a daily basis.

 

Joe Comito will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board and still works at Capital City Fruit where he buys tomatoes for the company’s repack program. 

 

“He is a great businessman and an expert in fresh produce. We expect everyone will be as pleased as we are, and probably not at all surprised, that his commitment to serving is not going to end,” added Brendan Comito, Chief Operations officer. “He has set a pretty high bar for us and we are committed to working hard every day to meet and exceed his and our customers’ high standards.”