International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) announced the slate of new directors for the 2023 IFPA Board of Directors. The volunteer leaders will be confirmed by a ballot shared with the membership, and their board term will begin at the end of October.
The board is led by the officers of the Executive Committee and will be led in 2023 by current chair-elect Laura Himes, senior merchandising director at Walmart. Himes will inherit the role from the current chair, Bruce Taylor, CEO of Taylor Farms. The next Chair-Elect, slotted to assume leadership of the Executive Committee, will be John Anderson, CEO and managing partner of Oppy.
The new slate is selected to serve in the roles of those directors retiring from board service. Tasked with identifying these leaders is the Leadership Development Committee. This year, this committee was led by past chairs Dwight Ferguson, president and CEO of California Agricultural Leadership Foundation, and Danny Dumas, senior vice-president and general manager of Calavo Growers.
With over 1000 volunteer leaders serving across multiple committees, councils, and other working groups, the IFPA Board of Directors serves a key role in driving association work around the seven priorities. This year's slate will assume leadership of the Food Safety Council, Australia New Zealand Advisory Board, the Marketing Council, and more.
The new board slate for 2023:
- Australia New Zealand Advisory Board: Richard Byllaardt, chairman, Citrus Australia
- Food Safety Council: Jennifer Pulcipher, director of food safety & compliance, North Bay Produce
- Fresh-Cut Processor Council: Judy Clark, chief executive officer, Fresh Texas
- Marketing Council: Karen Nardozza, president & chief executive officer, Moxxy Marketing
- South Africa: Jaco Oosthuizen, chief executive officer, RSA Group
- U.S. Government Relations Council: Bret Erickson, executive vice-president, Little Bear Produce
- Wholesaler-Distributor Council: Stefanie Katzman, executive vice-president, S. Katzman Produce
- At Large Representatives: Paulina Criticos, chief executive officer, EMEA, Westfalia Fruit (Pty) Ltd; Tammy DeBoer, president, Harris Teeter; Clinton A. Lewis, Jr., chief executive officer, AgroFresh Solutions, Inc.; Elyse Lipman, chief strategy officer, Lipman Family Farms; John Simko, president & CEO, Sunshine Bouquet Company
Retiring board members include:
- Tom Brugato, president, Pacific Coast Fruit Company - wholesaler-distributor chair
- Adrielle Dankier, commercial director, Nature's Pride
- Trevor Dukes, CEO, The Fruit Farm Group - South Africa chair
- Danny Dumas, senior vice-president, Calavo Growers-immediate past co-chair
- Cheryl Enlow, VP of QA and food safety, Renaissance Food Group - food safety chair
- Dwight Ferguson, president/CEO, California Agricultural Leadership Foundation - immediate past co-chair
- Karen Fernald, SVP category, merchandising and pricing, Food Lion
- Ben Hoodless, director & business development specialist, ElementAG - IFPA Australia-New Zealand chair
- Brian Kocher, president, and CEO, Calavo Growers - U.S. government relations chair
- Jacob Krempel, VP of operations, HelloFresh
- Raina Nelson, president, US, Westfalia Fruit Marketing USA LLC - fresh-cut chair
- Carlos Oramas, CEO, Gems Group, Inc.
- Michael Simonetta, CEO, Perfection Fresh
For more information:
Siobhan May
IFPA
Tel: +1 (302) 781-5855
[email protected]
www.freshproduce.com