Jack Ponticelli

Mr. Ponticelli is CEO & co-founder of Piedmont Valley Truffles. Together with his son Aron, Jack Ponticelli has formulated the vision and led the way in making the company a dominant player in the North American Truffle industry.

For twelve years prior to starting Piedmont Valley Truffles, Jack Ponticelli successfully established, grew and sold a hot-air balloon ride / advertising business based in rural northwestern New Jersey. During his tenure, the company had the largest market share in the region - with ten active pilots along with twenty-five crewmembers and support personnel.

Jack Ponticelli has acquired practical, hands on, farming experience in both Southern California, as a Forest Ranger primarily responsible for a Forest & Turf Management program, and in Arizona as a Manager of both an Orange Orchard and an Olive Grove. He also established a leading Landscaping Design & Maintenance company outside of Los Angeles, California.

A true "Jack-of-all-trades", he has diverse interests and abilities ranging from woodworking and gunsmithing to metal detecting and hot-air ballooning. Since 2002 he has devoted his time, energy and skills to building and leading Piedmont Valley Truffles.

Jack completed a two-year program in Agriculture and Turf Management from Victor Valley College in California and received an Associates of Science from Ocean County College in New Jersey. He resides in the Piedmont region of North Carolina.

Aron J Ponticelli

Mr. Ponticelli is President & co-founder of Piedmont Valley Truffles. Working side-by-side with his father Jack, Aron J Ponticelli has taken the company from an innovative idea to an established market leader.

In addition to Piedmont Valley Truffles, Aron J Ponticelli is also currently a Director with a Greenwich, CT based financial software company providing enterprise solutions for investment management firms. Previously he was a founding partner of the now defunct GoCargo.com, an Internet-based transportation exchange and e-procurement ASP funded by Goldman Sachs. He also worked on Wall Street with Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. as a Financial Analyst.

Aron J Ponticelli enjoys international travel and cuisine, is an avid skier and also a motorcycle enthusiast. He fully immerses himself in all aspects of the truffle business, from financial to farming, and looks forward to devoting his full energy and time to Piedmont Valley Truffles in the coming years.

Aron received his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Boston University and an undergraduate degree in Finance & Marketing from Stockton College. He currently resides in both New York City and North Carolina.

Franklin Garland

Mr. Garland is an integral Partner, technical consultant and inoculated seedling supplier for Piedmont Valley Truffles.

Franklin Garland was the first to learn, acquire and bring the licensed process of truffle inoculation from Europe to the United States. Along with Piedmont Valley Truffles, he is also President of Garland Gourmet Mushrooms & Truffles in Hillsborough, North Carolina - one of only two producers of inoculated trees for truffle production in North America. Franklin has worked as a Senior Technician with W&G Instruments, Inc. and as a Department Head/Instructor of Digital Electronics at Alamance Community College.

In addition to a book entitled Truffle Cultivation in North America, Franklin Garland has authored and published several papers and studies regarding Truffles including Growing Truffles in Adverse Soil Conditions, which was initially presented during the 5th International Truffle Conference held in March 1999. He was also awarded a Small Business Innovative Research grant from the U. S. Department of Agriculture for research and development of a novel method of inoculation of trees for truffle production. The Tobacco Trust Fund recently awarded him a $235,000 grant for alternate crop research in North Carolina.

Franklin Garland received his B.A. in Mathematics-Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, P.A. He holds separate A.A.S degrees in Manufacturing Technology, Electronics and Biomedical Equipment Repair from Alamance Community College. He is fluent in English, Spanish & French and resides in North Carolina.