Q&A with Brie Smith
As a fifth-generation grower who has spent more than a decade in leadership roles with experience spanning the Americas, Brie Smith (Agricultural Business, ’09) currently serves as the vice chair of Driscoll's board of directors. She lives with her husband, Brian, and three daughters in Watsonville, California.
You grew up in a farming family and built your career from the field to executive leadership. How did Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing approach shape the way you lead at Driscoll’s today?
There really is not a better way to gain credibility and influence than to have done the job yourself. It’s also an incredibly effective way to learn something, forever. My husband and I have owned berry farming companies in Chile and now in the U.S. When we first moved to Chile in 2011, we spent the whole first season harvesting. I always felt that paid off in terms of how we were able to lead our harvest crews since they had all seen us harvest alongside them. Similarly, at Driscoll’s, my roles have all had a lot of involvement with our independent growers. I always feel like it’s a plus to have been a grower myself, not just someone “from corporate” when I engage with them.
What impact did your experience living and working as a blueberry grower in Chile have on who you’ve become?
Ultimately, the experience made me even more deeply appreciate the role of the farmworkers and the growers in our food system. Chile was great because it’s a major supplier of a variety of produce items around the world, generally during the northern hemisphere’s winter. The connectivity and interdependencies of the global food system became really evident to me while in Chile. That experience taught me to be disciplined about thinking through potential outcomes as part of developing a strategic mindset. Having a sense of what’s likely to play out in the long run makes it much easier to think through what to do today.
As an aside, I was told that you ran a dog rescue while there. What inspired you and how many dogs were rescued?
Unfortunately, it was in my house and it was unofficial, which is what a lot of the rescue work in Chile is. Over the nearly six years I was there, my husband and I rescued 39 dogs and four cats. I know this because we used to use the naming convention “NN #” with the vets, which meant No Name #. Anyway, I went from being a person always dreaming of happening upon an abandoned animal that I could save to praying I never found one again. We ran out of Chilean friends to give them to and ended up exporting quite a few to the U.S. and one to Europe.
What kinds of practical skills do you believe will matter most for the next generation of agricultural leaders?
I hope there is never a technology to replace a strong work ethic, good communication skills and a strategic mindset. Those are three things that have been strong factors of success for me in every role I’ve ever had. I’m not suggesting I possess all three of those in spades, but they matter a lot and I have worked hard to develop all three.
From your vantage point at Driscoll’s, what are the biggest opportunities and challenges facing agriculture over the next 10 to 20 years — and how can universities like Cal Poly prepare students to lead through that change?
Stating the obvious here, but people need to eat, so producing something people want to eat more of because it’s delicious and healthy is an exciting and near limitless opportunity. Actually doing that is wrought with challenges, like managing to grow while facing water/labor/land constraints, along with a regulatory environment that is every day more detached from the producers’ reality. When it comes to food production of the future, there’s a real need to develop young professionals with an insatiable curiosity for what is out there and an appreciation for diversity of thought.
What advice would you offer current students who want to make a lasting impact in agriculture — and how can alumni stay engaged in shaping the future of the industry?
I’ve never had a job that I didn’t learn from, so taking all the opportunities to gain exposure to different aspects of the industry is important and too often treated as a “nice to have, not a need to have.” I cannot emphasize [enough] how important some lateral moves early in your career are, before you get too expensive and/or more qualified in a particular area. Regarding continued involvement with the university, I personally enjoy sitting on boards/councils, hosting students at industry events and hosting tours whenever Cal Poly asks. We are also very fortunate to be able to financially partner with Cal Poly to help create unique learning spaces, like the Farm Store at the Plant Sciences Complex.
The Driscoll’s $5 million pledge to the college in support of its new farm store is an investment in growing hands-on opportunities for students in production, marketing and selling Cal Poly-made products while engaging in applied research that addresses real-world agricultural and food challenges. What does this gift signify to you?
It’s really a privilege to participate in this project. I wish it existed when I was a student. I cannot think of a cooler opportunity than to get a sense of the entire value chain, from field to fork, all on one campus.
To join the effort in taking the next big step for Cal Poly’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, contact Russ Kabaker, assistant dean of advancement and external relations, at 805-756-6601 or rkabaker@calpoly.edu.
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