Brian Gordon steps to the helm of Ritzville Warehouse

With John Anderson stepping down as CEO of the Ritzville Warehouse Company, the board of directors looked to employees already working within the company to fill the position.

After the interview process, the board selected Brain Gordon to serve as the new CEO for the company.

Gordon is excited for the opportunity to step into the leadership role at the company and, when he started working for the warehouse, thought the opportunity would be available.

“It’s a very good company to work for,” Gordon said. “And it’s been a leader in the Pacific Northwest, Ritzville Warehouse has, so I’m excited to take over for John.”

He brings years of experience working as the head of the marketing department at the warehouse and is now transitioning into the new position as the head of the company after working there for 13 years.

“I’ve always enjoyed the marketing, that’s why I got into the marketing to begin with,” Gordon explained.

“Ultimately that [CEO] was something that I wanted to be able to achieve in the right situation and this, to me, was the right situation.”

As a part of the management team, he has experience with the workings of managing the company but will be stepping into a slightly different position where he will oversee the entire company rather than the marketing.

Gordon grew up in Ritzville and attended school from kindergarten through high school. After graduating from Ritzville High School he attended Washington State University and graduated with a degree in Ag Business Management.

During his junior and senior years in college, Gordon worked at two internships in the ag-business field, one in Portland and the other at Country Hedging in Minneapolis.

After graduating college he took a job in Kansas briefly before moving to St. John where he worked as the head of the marketing department there for three years.

He moved back to Ritzville because he enjoyed growing up there and saw an opportunity to work for a good company.

“ Just felt it was a great opportunity with the shuttle being built and to further my career,” Gordon said.

His father also worked as the manager of Ritzville Warehouse.

Because of this he spent a lot of time going to meetings with his father and meeting the managers of other area companies. These previous relationships proved helpful to Gordon when he started working in Ritzville.

“They helped me transition into the business,” Gordon said

Gordon met his wife, Emily, in Ritzville.

Both Gordon and his wife share a passion for golf and met at the clubhouse in Ritzville. They have two children, Jax and Camden, and they plan to raise their sons in Ritzville.

“My wife and I both grew up here in Ritzville and are excited to raise our kids here with the positive experiences we had growing up,” Gordon added.

In the ever-changing wheat market, Gordon sees technology playing a big role in the advancement of crop production. With farmers having the capablility of harvesting areas that used to take a month in a couple of weeks, the warehouse must continually upgrade its facilities to accommodate its farmers needs.

He said the Ritzville Warehouse is well ahead of the curve when it comes to providing shuttle capacity in the northwest. The Templin Terminal became operational almost 12 years before other companies began to look into comparable facilities.

Gordon explained the warehouse would continue to work with and for its customers to increase growth, which will help the company continue to be profitable for shareholders and create a good work environment for its employees.

“We just want to continue to be profitable, increasing shareholder value, continued growth, adapting with chance because there is always change in our industry,” Gordon said, “and just being able to be relevant in the agri-business industry.”

Gordon also wants to continue to make the warehouse a great place for community members to work.

“One thing that I am happy about is I’ve been able to inherit a good group of employees that are hard workers and positive contributors to the community,” Gordon explained. “So that’s one thing I’m really excited about is being able to give back to the community as well as the rest of our employees.”

As he transitions into his new position Gordon will strive to continue the tradition of excellence that has been established by the Ritzville Warehouse.

He plans to help the company continue to be a business that improves each community it is involved in.