Clover CEO discovers how to ‘re-career’

Kevin Imm is taking a path not traveled by many in his position.

As the CEO of Clover Stornetta Farms, and at 43 years old, he’s retiring, or as he prefers, “re-careering.” He’s leaving the board room and headed for the classroom in pursuit of his long-held dream of teaching.

“I didn’t know if I had the courage to pull the trigger,” said Imm when asked about his decision. “But I have 20 more years left in my career, and I want to follow my true calling for teaching. It’s now or never.”

He discovered his calling eight or nine years ago while coaching youth sports. He’s been a coach for years and recalls that the highlight of his day would revolve around his time spent on the field with the kids. “The kids are inspiring and being with them is fulfilling,” said Imm.

But it wasn’t until he started to heed his advice to his own children that made him realize he was poised for a change. “I’d tell my kids to work hard in school so that they could be anything they wanted to be,” he said. “If you love your job, you’ll never work a day in your life”.

His children, now 8 and 11, are too young to know that they’ve indirectly inspired their father to follow his dreams, but old enough to learn by the example that he’s leading.

“I haven’t been working for me,” said Imm. “I’ve been working for my partners, the employees and all those involved with Clover. I’ve given a lot of myself and now I want to give something back to me.”

Imm describes his decision as a long process, partly because his ties to the company run deep. Not only has he worked for Clover for more than half his life. His father, Gary Imm, was one of the company’s founders in 1977.

Imm didn’t know it then, but his career began when he was 12 years old, scooping ice cream at county fairs. After graduating with his degree in business administration from California State University, Sacramento in 1989, he entered into a full-time position as a sales representative. Event-ually, he shifted into operations, climbed the ranks and landed as CEO five years ago.

The origin of the Clover brand dates back to the early 1900s, when the Petaluma Cooperative Creamery began distributing Clover products in the Petaluma area. The co-op was successful and eventually expanded throughout Marin and Sonoma counties. The success, however, was halted in 1975 when a fire destroyed the processing and bottling facilities. The co-op decided not to rebuild.

In 1977, former co-op manager Gene Benedetti, together with five partners, purchased the Clover brand along with the wholesale distribution business from Cal Coperative and Stornetta Diary and formed Clover Stornetta Farms.

Today, the company distributes its products throughout California and has recently expanded to Arizona and Nevada. While the company has a long history of success, it experienced unprecedented growth from 2004 to 2009 under the leadership of Kevin Imm.

When asked about how he’ll transition from CEO to teacher, Imm says that because he remains entirely focused on his day-to-day duties as CEO, he’s unsure how he’ll pave that path. Mission No. 1, he says, “I want to take a break to charge my mind, body and spirit and spend quality time with my family and friends.”

Indeed, Kevin Imm is taking a path not traveled by many successful CEOs, but he hopes that pursuing his dream will yield a different kind of success.

(Contact Leigh Yebra at argus@arguscourier.com)