Soren Bjorn #

Introduction #

Soren Bjorn is a Denmark-born fruit-industry executive who served as chief executive officer of Driscoll’s, the world’s largest berry company, until the Watsonville, California-based firm announced in August 2026 that he was stepping down from the top job effective immediately. His exit came as the $3 billion company faced two proposed consumer-fraud class actions over alleged pesticide and PFAS-related residues in its strawberries, a wrongful-termination lawsuit from a former food-safety manager, and growing activist pressure over pesticide use near schools. Driscoll’s named board vice chair Brie Reiter Smith — the great-granddaughter of a company co-founder — as his replacement, and the company did not say that Bjorn’s departure was connected to the lawsuits, framing the change as a leadership transition.

Background Information #

Bjorn got into the fruit business shortly after graduating from college in Texas, working with a company that specialized in tropical fruit. He joined Driscoll’s in 2006 and held a series of senior roles before taking the helm in January 2023, including president of the company’s American division, senior vice president of international business and global technologies, and head of the company’s North American business unit. As CEO, he led a company that works with an estimated 900 to 1,000 growers in more than 20 countries and sells raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries in more than 70 countries. He publicly championed research into berries that can withstand climate change, asking, “How do our genetics stand up to this? How do we make them more resilient?” On pesticides, he said in 2024 that “the usage of pesticides, including the distance from schools, is closely regulated by the California Department of Pesticide Regulations,” adding that “it’s up to the scientists and regulators to determine if those regulations should be modified” — a response to local critics who argued Driscoll’s was not doing enough to reduce pesticide usage near Pajaro Valley schools.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

The legal storm surrounding Driscoll’s centers on two proposed class actions alleging deceptive marketing, not physical harm. The federal case, Berlinger, et al. v. Driscoll’s, Inc. (No. 5:26-cv-06444, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division), was filed June 26, 2026, by six consumers from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Illinois. A second case, brought by California resident Christina Washington, was filed in Santa Cruz County Superior Court in mid-July 2026. Both trace back to laboratory testing that the consumer-advocacy site Mamavation publicized in May 2026: according to the complaints, testing of Driscoll’s strawberries found residues from 12 pesticides, eight of which the plaintiffs describe as PFAS-related “forever chemicals.” Neither lawsuit claims the strawberries made anyone sick or that they violate U.S. pesticide residue limits; the claims target marketing, alleging the company promoted a “clean” image — including its “Only the Finest Berries” slogan and “greenwashing” — without disclosing the alleged compounds. No class has been certified in either case. Driscoll’s has strongly rejected the accusations: “We reject the allegations in this lawsuit and believe they are without merit,” a company spokesperson said, adding that its berries “are safe to eat and meet all applicable regulatory standards.”

The litigation is part of a wider backlash. The lawsuits build on a whistleblower complaint by David Harada, Driscoll’s former manager of food safety and regulatory compliance for the US and Canada, who alleges he was wrongfully fired after raising concerns that some growers were violating pesticide limits — allegations Driscoll’s rejects. Meanwhile, activist pressure on the company has grown, led by local activists who oppose the use of pesticides near schools and are calling for more fields to be converted to organic, with coverage framing Bjorn’s exit as coming amid this pressure over the company’s pesticide practices. It is against that backdrop — what one headline called a “toxic” pesticide backlash — that Bjorn’s departure was announced.

Public Reaction and Consequences #

Driscoll’s announced the leadership change on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, with Smith taking over as CEO effective immediately. “While I may not have followed the traditional path to this role, no one believes in our company’s mission more than me,” Smith said, praising Bjorn’s team: “The team Soren has assembled is the best we’ve had, which is a real testament to his leadership and vision.” Executive Chair Miles Reiter said of the outgoing CEO, “We have had a lot of fun and been through plenty of challenges together,” and praised his “intelligence, strength of character and commitment” to the company’s mission. Bjorn could not immediately be reached for comment, and Driscoll’s did not answer follow-up questions about the change. The announcement drew wide coverage precisely because of its timing — arriving in the middle of active litigation and activist campaigns — though the company did not say the departure was connected to the lawsuits, and the announcement framed the move as a succession rather than a response to the allegations.

Current Status #

Bjorn remains with Driscoll’s during the transition and is helping with key strategic priorities, while Smith — who assumed the board vice chair role in January and has worked across the family-owned company for more than a decade, including growing blueberries in Chile — leads the company. The litigation he left behind continues: the federal case has an initial hearing set for September 2026, the California case is in its early stages, and no class has been certified, no trial date set and no settlement reached in either. The allegations remain unproven and are disputed by Driscoll’s, which maintains its berries are safe. The company’s announcement did not describe Bjorn’s exit as connected to any of the litigation.

Impact on Their Career/Life #

Bjorn’s two-decade run at Driscoll’s ended with his chief-executive tenure cut short at under three years, a departure that news outlets uniformly reported alongside the pesticide and “forever chemicals” litigation — tying his name to the controversy regardless of the eventual legal outcomes. He has not been accused of any crime, the lawsuits name the company rather than him personally, and neither the company nor any court has found wrongdoing; his exit was presented as a leadership transition, and he is staying on through it in an advisory capacity on strategic priorities. What role he takes after the transition, and whether the litigation or the activist pressure had any bearing on the board’s decision, has not been publicly explained — Driscoll’s did not answer follow-up questions, and Bjorn has not publicly commented on the circumstances of his departure.