Born in Argentina, Ric lived in New York and Hong Kong before moving to Los Angeles. Prior to the fresh produce sector, he dedicated 30 years to the tanning/footwear materials industry - and 6 years to the renewable energy sector - performing roles that demanded broad decision-making experience in sourcing, manufacturing, development and materials quality, supply chain process optimization, leading multi-cultural teams in multiple continents, as well as creating organizations from the ground up. While at Paccess, he was tasked with co-creating a global footwear raw materials sourcing program for no less than sport giant Nike, Inc., turning a U$40mill/year project into a U$300mill/year procurement and quality assurance program that spanned all the way from Asia to South America, where he brought together multiple organizations; from materials producers to logistics companies and international manufacturing conglomerates, creating not only unprecedented material component cost savings for the brand and strategic partners alike, but also increasing product quality across the globe.