Marino Roa

Marino Roa has over 27 years of experience in sourcing and developing items for Hispanic and Jamaican consumers on the eastern coast. Marino served as the VP of Sales and Marketing at GraceKennedy Foods (USA), LLC, where they managed sales and brand development for all company-owned brands. Marino developed strategies to cross-market Jamaican brands to Hispanic consumers and vice versa. Prior to that, they worked at LAFE Foods for 25 years as the Vice President of Sales and Marketing. There, they oversaw every aspect of the warehouse, distribution, sales, and brand development. Marino improved sales from $15M to $75M and created a diverse product portfolio to cater to various markets. Their portfolio consisted of over 1,200 items for South American, Central American, Caribbean, West Indian, and Anglo markets. Marino managed a sales force of 60 salespersons, 30 trucks, and 15 merchandisers.

Marino Roa pursued a Technician Degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from 1979 to 1983 at Instituto Politecnico Loyola. Following this, from 1983 to 1988, they attended Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra to earn a Master's degree in Computer Science.