Management Team

Christopher Oliva

Key Accounts and Southern Sales Manager

Christopher has been with AGRX since its inception coming over with the Joseph Powers Company. He has been a practicing PCA on several different crops including citrus, avocados, vegetable crops, and strawberries. He has held the positions of Oxnard Sales Manager, Sales Manager, Sales Director and is currently Key Accounts and Southern Sales Manager. Prior to his time at Joseph Powers, he worked in production at a produce company. Christopher has a Bachelor of Science degree in Crop Science. He also has taken courses in Sales and Financial Analysis at Purdue University.

John Gracia

Santa Maria Branch Manager

Before returning to AG RX as the Santa Maria Branch Manager in 2020, John worked for three years with a start-up organic fertilizer company. From 2008 to 2017, John worked for AG RX as a PCA/CCA. As an AG RX PCA, John worked with vegetables and strawberries. John has a long and varied history in agriculture. He worked with wholesale vegetable seed companies Pybas Seed and Rijk Zwaan and worked for three years as a PCA in Southern California with Helena. He also worked for five years as the Production Manager for Babe Farms. John has a Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Don Perry

Salinas Branch Manager

Don joined AG RX in 2019 after 10 years with the JR Simplot company where he served as Coastal Market Manager and most recently as their national Organics Product Manager. He has been an active PCA, PCO, QAL, and CCA his entire career and has managed several agronomic sales & service companies. Don’s areas of expertise include organics, product procurement, prescription blending, and application equipment design. Don has extensive experience in the crops of the “Salad Bowl” of the Salinas Valley and specializes in vegetable row crops of all varieties. Don was a horticultural instructor at the college level and holds a Master’s of Crop Science from Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo.

Gloria Piceno

Director of Human Resources

Gloria joined AG RX in 2015 bringing with her over 20 years of HR experience from various industries including manufacturing, entertainment, insurance, and agriculture.  As the Director of Human Resources, Gloria supports all functions of AG RX with her focus on Culture and Strategic Planning.  She received her B.A. in Sociology from UCLA with graduate studies in education. She currently serves as the co-chair of our ESOP Communication Committee and a member of our Leadership Team.

Kenneth Burdullis

Chairman of the Board

Ken served as the CEO of AG RX from 2005 to 2017 and now serves as a member of the board. When AG RX was formed in 1993 from the merger of California Ag Resources (CARR), Joseph Powers Company, and Pacific Pest Control, Ken took a key leadership role in growing and developing the AG RX culture. He served in a variety of positions including Administrative Manager, Information Services, Human Resources, Safety, and Regulatory Compliances Operations, and Sales and Marketing. Ken began his agricultural career early in life working for his father, Jack Burdullis, formerly the owner of CARR. Upon completion of his Bachelor of Science Degree in Crop Science from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, he worked for DuPont in Sales and Marketing in the San Joaquin Valley for several years. After earning a Master’s of Divinity Degree from Fuller Theological Seminary, he served in Thailand for four years as a missionary where he helped the rural Thai churches develop agricultural projects that sustained them economically. Upon returning to Ventura County in 1991, with his wife and two children, he began working at CARR for his brother Joe Burdullis. Currently, Ken serves on the Board of Directors for AG RX and the Board of Directors for Western Plant Health Association.

Brian Lish

Chief Executive Officer, President, and Board Member

Brian joined AG RX in 2015 as the Chief Operating Officer and was promoted to President and COO in 2016. In 2017, he transitioned into his current role as Chief Executive Officer and President. Brian worked from 2006 to 2015 for BASF—a German chemical company. During his nine years at BASF, Brian held a variety of positions including Business Manager of Strategic Accounts for termite, pest control, turf and ornamentals accounts; Business Manager of Turf and Ornamentals; Business Manager of Professional Vegetation Management; and District Sales Manager for agricultural products in California, Arizona, Hawaii, and Southern Nevada. Prior to working for BASF, Brian held several positions over a 13-year period with the J.R. Simplot Company—a privately held agribusiness company. He worked in both finance and agribusiness retail and held positions of Director of Planning and Analysis as well as the Director of Marketing and Product Management.

Anthony Mathews

Board Member

The Beyster Institute at the Rady School of Management, UC San Diego
Anthony Mathews is Senior Consultant and Lecturer at the Beyster Institute at the Rady School of Management, UC San Diego promoting employee ownership and high powered company culture. Tony came to the Beyster Institute after retiring from a 30-year career designing and installing several hundred ESOPs,   He is a frequent speaker on matters related to employee ownership, has served as a founding member and director of both the ESOP Association and the National Center for Employee Ownership, and published over 100 articles on the subject of employee ownership.

Minos Athanassiadis

Board Member

Minos is the founder and Managing Director of Fresh Link Group, an agriculture and technology advisory firm.  Fresh Link works with a broad spectrum of clients such as Monsanto Vegetable Seeds, John Deere, and Walmart, to privately held companies and startups, to help define, build and launch new products and services focused on the fresh fruit and vegetable industry.

He has held a series of food industry positions including Sales and Marketing lead of Dole Fresh Vegetables Fresh-Cut division and President of Underwood Ranches, a fruit and vegetable grower-shipper.

Additionally, he has held senior executive positions at food and agriculture-focused technology firms such as Foodlink, now iTrade Network, Agrian, and Trimble. Clients have included major retailers such as Safeway, Wegmans, and Ahold USA, grower-shippers like Fresh DelMonte, SunWorld, and Suntreat, as well as food processors like ConAgra and Olam.

Minos studied agricultural economics at the University of California at Davis and earned an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Byron J. Green

Board Member

Byron has over 30 years of Public Accounting experience and is the founder and President of Green & Green, CPA, Inc. which was founded in 2005. Prior to forming Green & Green, he worked for Ernst & Young for over 12 years. Byron received his Masters of Accountancy – tax emphasis from Brigham Young University. Green & Green works with a broad variety of tax clients with a focus on P&C insurance companies, real estate and small businesses, general business consulting and audits of non-SEC registrants.

Byron is active in his community and works closely with several nonprofit organizations including those who work with foster kids, homelessness and food banks.