Chiquita Brands International Names Kevin R. Holland Senior Vice President of Human Resources

CINCINNATI, Oct. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Chiquita Brands International, Inc. today announced that Kevin R. Holland, 43, has joined the company as senior vice president of human resources. Holland served most recently as chief people officer at Coors Brewing Co. At Chiquita, he will serve on the company's management committee and be responsible for all aspects of the company's global HR activities, including compensation, benefits, employee relations, recruitment and training.

"Kevin's strategic experience in people development and employee engagement will be invaluable as we continue to build a high-performance organization at Chiquita," said Fernando Aguirre, chairman and chief executive officer. "Kevin has demonstrated success in designing and implementing successful performance management processes as well as integrating cultures of merging companies. His experience will be very relevant given our integration of the Fresh Express acquisition.

"I'm confident that Kevin will add significant depth to our senior management team as we continue to advance our sustainable growth strategy," Aguirre added. "He is another great example of how Chiquita's transformation is helping us attract very talented individuals with experience from world- class organizations."

"Chiquita is a wonderful company with a powerful brand and an exciting leadership team," Holland said. "I am looking forward to adding my skills and experience as we become the employer of choice for committed, passionate and disciplined professionals."

Holland joined Coors in 2003 as chief people officer. In that role, he directed the people integration process for Coors' merger with Molson Brewing Co. and led human capital initiatives that resulted in the smooth consolidation of operations.

Prior to Coors, Holland was vice president of human resources at Kinko's, where he was responsible for all corporate and international HR functions, including expatriate programs for Kinko's in more than 100 locations in nine countries. He also has HR experience at Gateway, Inc., and Abbott Laboratories, Inc., as well as production experience at Frito-Lay Co.

Holland earned his bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Rhode Island and was a captain in the U.S. Army, where he served for five years, stationed in Germany and the United States.

Chiquita Brands International, Inc. (http://www.chiquita.com/) is a leading international marketer and distributor of high-quality fresh and value-added produce, which is sold under the Chiquita(R) premium brand, Fresh Express(R) and other related trademarks. The company is one of the largest banana producers in the world and a major supplier of bananas in Europe and North America. In June 2005, Chiquita acquired Fresh Express, the U.S. market leader in value-added salads, a fast-growing food category for grocery retailers, foodservice providers and quick-service restaurants.