The Controlled Environment Agriculture Alliance (CEA Alliance) has announced a new Chairman, Treasurer and Directors elected to serve on its Board of Directors for 2026. Members were announced today at the Alliance Annual Meeting, immediately before the Indoor Ag-Con show in Las Vegas.
The new Chairman of the Board is Skip Hulett, Chief Legal Officer, NatureSweet. Since joining NatureSweet in 2018, Skip has played a pivotal role in the company's rapid growth and has led several major initiatives — including guiding NatureSweet to become the largest CEA company in the world to achieve B Corp certification. A former state district court judge and founder of a successful law firm, Hulett brings deep legal expertise and a passion for sustainable practices. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas as well as the Association of Corporate Counsel.
He replaces Steve Campione, CFO and Executive Vice President of Strategy, Bright Farms, who is concluding his Board service. Steve has served the CEA Alliance through a period of growth, adding grower members in both the leafy greens and vine crop sectors, as well as a number of business partner supplier members.
Matthew Meisel, Chief Development Officer, Little Leaf Farms, will replace Tim Cunniff, Co-Founder & Executive Vice President of Sales for Little Leaf, as Treasurer. Tim has served as Treasurer of the Alliance since its founding in 2019, helping to bring an idea of industry collaboration into reality.
Members of the 2026 Board of Directors include both newly elected directors and those continuing their service.
The newly elected directors are Abby Prior, Chief Commercial Officer at Cox Farms; Aaron Fields, CEO of Campo Caribe; Viraj Puri, Co-Founder and CEO of Gotham Greens; and Dave Stienes, Chairman and CEO of Adept Ag.
Directors continuing their service on the board are David Einstandig, General Counsel at Mastronardi Produce/Sunset Grown; Kyle Freedman, Global Market Segment Manager at Jiffy Group; Monica Noble, Director of Quality & Safety at 80 Acres; Hema Prado, Sustainability and Policy Director at Plenty; Tim Reusch, National Sales Manager at DRAMM Water; and Kathleen Valiasek, Chair and CEO of Local Bounti.
"I want to thank Steve Campione for his exceptional commitment to the CEA Alliance as our Chairman, and to our industry overall. I also want to thank Tim Cunniff for his service as Treasurer from the very beginning of the Alliance," said its Executive Director, Tom Stenzel. "I look forward to working with Skip Hulett as our new Chairman, and all of these industry leaders who are stepping up to serve our membership on the Alliance's Board of Directors. As companies see the value of our collective efforts, our membership continues to grow among both high-tech greenhouse and indoor vertical farms, their suppliers and business partners, working closely together with their retail and foodservice customers."
For more information:
CEA Alliance
www.ceaalliance.com
