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Meet Our Team

TING XU

Founder & Chairman of the Board

Ting is the Founder and Chairman of the Board of Evergreen Enterprises. The Company was founded in 1993, when Ting, a computer programmer at the Virginia State Health Department, launched a second career for her retired parents making decorative flags in her garage. The Company has become one of the nation’s largest flag wholesalers, producing millions of flags each year. Under her leadership, the Company has expanded throughout the home & gift industry, slowly increasing its product assortment to include garden and home décor, officially licensed sports merchandise, and fashion and baby accessories.

Ting is heavily involved with the Organization of Chinese Americans, various philanthropic efforts, and the Maggie Walker Governor’s School. In her free time, Ting takes pleasure in reading, traveling, and trend shopping.

JOHN TOLER

CEO

As CEO, John leads Evergreen Enterprises’ sales, customer service, fulfillment and distribution operations. He began his career in the home & gift industry in 1996 as a territory manager for his family’s business, Toler Marketing. Prior to his promotion to President, John served as the Company’s Chief Operating Officer and prior to that, its Vice President of Sales. Under his leadership in these positions, the sales team tripled its revenue and doubled in size.

John earned his B.S. from St. Norbert College and his M.B.A. from St. Louis University. John sits on the Board of Directors for the Gift & Home Trade Association and is the Finance Committee Chair and School Board Member for St. Edwards-Epiphany. An avid hiker, fisherman, and kayaker; John is married, has two sons, and resides in Richmond, Virginia.

CHRIS WORNOM

Chief Financial Officer

Christopher manages the Company's financial operations including financial reporting, bank relations, accounts receivable, payroll, and risk management. He joined the Company in 2010 in Corporate Development and has led the acquisition and integration of eight businesses and the divestitures of three non-core divisions. Prior to Evergreen, Christopher was an investment banker with Harris Williams & Co. where he provided merger & acquisition and private capital advisory services to middle market companies and private equity groups.

Christopher graduated magna cum laude from the Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics at Washington & Lee University. He has been named as one of the gift industry’s Top 40 under 40 by Gift & Stationary Magazine, and he has been a keynote speaker at the Gift & Home Trade Association conference. He lives with his wife and two sons in Richmond and enjoys golfing in his spare time.

JOE BOWER

Chief Operating Officer

As COO, Joe leads fulfillment and distribution operations, as well as human resources. Joe specializes in talent acquisition, workforce development, and process improvement. With a strategic mindset, Joe drives operational efficiency and workforce excellence. Joe’s expertise lies in enhancing company cultures and fostering safe and positive work environments. Joe joined the Company in 2017 as Director of Human Resources. Before Evergreen, Joe spent over 17 years in a variety of operational and HR roles within the food and pharmaceutical manufacturing industries. As a senior business leader, he managed cross-functional teams to deliver results and strengthen operational outcomes.

Joe received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Ferrum College and his M.B.A. from Strayer University. He lives in Richmond with his wife.

LESLIE NEWTON

Chief Administrative Officer

Leslie leads importing, logistics and IT. She joined the company in 2016 and has served in various roles including, Chief Financial Officer of Evergreen, Chief Executive Officer of Plow & Hearth (prior to its integration into Evergreen), and President of Evergreen. Prior to joining Evergreen, Leslie was the Chief Financial Officer for Southern States. She began her carrier as an auditor for Ernst & Young.

Leslie earned her B.S. in accounting from the University of Richmond. She lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband and enjoys exploring new restaurants as a “foodie” and traveling in her spare time.

ELDEN LIU

Vice President of Technology

Elden has always believed in the mantra – “if you can envision it, we can build it.” It is with that vision for tech innovation that he has lead the Information System team in building and developing several key internal systems that are the lifeline to Evergreen and our sister company Plow and Hearth’s product development and eCommerce success. Prior to joining the Evergreen family Elden led teams for IBM Canada and owned his own technology firm, where he developed a light directed picking system to dubbed Pick-to-Light that is still being used today in our Madison distribution center.

One of our resident night owls, we can always count on him to be up at all hours of the night troubleshooting for a new site launch or answering questions with our China office. Elden attended the University of Toronto where he received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. Elden travels back and forth throughout the week between our Madison and Richmond offices, but on the weekends he calls Charlottesville home where he enjoys his down time with his family.

CHRISTINE LIEN

Vice President of Product Development

As Evergreen’s Vice President of Product Development, Christine provides marketing and strategic direction for product lines, identifies growth opportunities, maximizes sourcing efficiency, and improves business processes. Her multifaceted work spans across all phases of product development, from strategic planning and product innovation to brand management. Prior to Evergreen, Christine spent over 30 years in the field as a Global Brand Director for Toys “R” Us, General Manager for DEMDACO, and most notably, Senior Vice President of Product Development and Sourcing at Russ Berrie and Company.

Christine received her M.B.A. in finance from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.