Bruce Taylor
Taylor Farms, 150 Main St. #300, Salinas, (877) 323‑7374, taylorfarms.com
In John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, the fictional protagonist Adam Trask has a dream: He can ship lettuce from the Salinas Valley to New York. “I got an idea and I can’t get rid of it,” Trask said. “It’s a kind of a big idea.” In the book (spoiler alert!) things don’t quite work out for Trask – railroad delays, melting ice – but Steinbeck captured the kind of vision that is required of successful leaders in a notoriously unpredictable industry. Bruce Taylor, chairman and CEO of Taylor Farms and Taylor Fresh Foods, is such a leader. He founded what is now the largest supplier of fresh‑cut salad in the United States, and ships produce all over the planet. Where Trask could only dream, Taylor succeeds. It wouldn’t make for a great novel (not enough tragedy) but it does make for the best in the Weekly’s reader poll.