John Martinelli was born in 1957 at the old Watsonville Community Hospital on Montecito Ave. He is a descendant of the Martinelli and Silliman families, two of the Pajaro Valley’s earliest pioneers who settled there in the 1850s.

John attended Salsipuedes Elementary school from K-8 grades and then graduated from Watsonville High school in 1975. He graduated with a BA in Economics from Stanford University in 1979.

Later that year, John began his career as Assistant Manager of the family business. Over 36 years, he has held various positions including Plant Manager, Sales Manager, General Manager, Vice President, President and currently as CEO. During his tenure, the company has grown by more than ten times, bringing both national recognition and economic benefits to Watsonville.

John has served in many community and nonprofit organizations. In addition to coaching K through 6th grade YMCA basketball and Little League for 17 years, where he also served as Treasurer, he was President/Chairman of the board of directors for the Watsonville Community Hospital, the Central Coast Health Insurance Trust Fund and T.H.A.N.K.S., a local agricultural scholarship foundation, and was a member of the Saint Francis Central Coast high school and Moreland Notre Dame elementary Capital Campaign Steering Committees, Little Helpers, Action Pajaro Valley (APV), the Pajaro River Flood Protection Task Force/Finance Committee, and the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PVWMA) Basin Management Plan Community Advisory Group and Finance Committee.

Dana Jones is CFO of S. Martinelli & Company with 30+ years experience in the Finance, Strategy and Supply Chain functions within the Food and Beverage Industry.  He was most recently CFO at Lundberg Family Farms with prior experience at Fortune 500 companies including ConAgra Brands, Kraft Foods and SABMiller. Dana holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from the Claremont Graduate University, Drucker School of Management and a Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Political Science from the University of La Verne. Dana is a Certified Management Accountant.

Courtney Lynch leads the sales function at S. Martinelli & Company. She has 20+ years of CPG experience in both general management and sales leadership and has spent most of her career with mission-driven and values-led businesses while with Clif Bar and Patagonia. Most recently, she led sales at two emerging food and beverage brand start-ups in the protein bar and dairy categories. Courtney received a BA in Journalism from Colorado State University and a Masters of Business Administration from University of Denver’s Daniels School of Business.

Jennifer Madrid leads the Human Resources function at Martinelli’s with 20+ years of HR experience in the food processing and agricultural products arenas. Jennifer graduated from the University of Phoenix while growing her career at Nestlé Ice Cream Company and gained valuable experience in the fields of human resources, safety, and environmental regulations. While working at Wonderful Citrus, Jennifer continued to grow her career and gained expertise in the areas of benefits, workers’ compensation, HR Information systems, and performance management. Jennifer is a champion of developing people and is committed to building diverse teams and an inclusive culture.