Media Contact: Amy Philpott, aphilpott@unitedfresh.org
202-303-3425
Washington, D.C. - The Board of Directors of the United Fresh Produce Association has voted to implement a new organizational structure for its volunteer leadership, to be implemented following this year’s annual convention May 4-7 in Las Vegas. The new structure will consist of four horizontal boards representing different market segments of the produce supply chain, which in turn will roll up into a consolidated overall Board of Directors representing the association’s membership.
“As our Board engaged in strategic planning over the past six months, it was clear that one of our key strengths as an organization is our total produce supply chain representation, and our ability to bring all segments of the supply chain together in balanced partnership for the good of the industry,” said United Fresh Chairman of the Board Emanuel Lazopoulos, Del Monte Fresh Produce. “While our Board clearly sees that strength in our internal deliberations, we also realized that we had the opportunity to be more transparent and inclusive in representing the needs of specific segments of the broad produce industry. This new structure will be both transparent and inclusive, as every company in the industry will know where companies like themselves fit within United’s structure, and every segment of the industry will have a fair voice in proportion to their member representation,” he said.
United Fresh will establish four new supply chain market segment boards, each consisting of from 15-20 representatives predominately representing companies in those business sectors. Associate member suppliers and allied association members that work closely with one market segment or another will also be permitted to serve on each board.
· Grower-Shipper Board
· Wholesale-Distributor Board
· Fresh-Cut Processor Board
· Retail-Foodservice Board
These boards will be empowered to identify, discuss and advance issues of importance within each sector in order to ensure that United Fresh is meeting their business needs, addressing critical issues, and implementing programs that deliver member value to each market segment. The chairman and vice chairman of each Board will fill an automatic seat on the association’s consolidated Board of Directors, ensuring direct representation of each market segment’s needs in all Board considerations. Members of each market segment board will be nominated by the association’s Nominating Committee, and will be formally elected by the membership to serve two-year terms.
In addition, United Fresh will formalize operations of four Advisory Councils, which serve to gather expertise and counsel in specific issue areas from across the entire membership. These include:
· Government Relations Council (currently operating)
· Food Safety & Technology Council (currently operating)
· Global Advisory Council (recently formed in January; second meeting in Las Vegas)
· Transportation & Logistics Council (to be formed)
Advisory councils will be appointed by the Chairman of the Board, and provide service as their expertise and time commitment allows. The chairman of each advisory council will also fill an automatic seat on the consolidated Board of Directors, ensuring that their council’s specific expert judgment is shared with the full Board in each meeting.
Members filling the 12 automatic Board seats outlined above will serve alongside four officers, and 25 at-large members chosen to proportionately represent the association’s total membership.
“In summary, these changes will reinforce for the entire industry United Fresh’s unique role in bringing together the total produce supply chain. We believe that addressing industrywide needs today demands a transparent candid dialogue across industry segments that can only be achieved with balanced and proportional representation of the industry. In addition, the structure of expert advisory councils allows for widespread member expertise in areas such as food safety, government affairs, transportation logistics and global issues to be brought to every Board meeting. United Fresh is committed to this level of transparency and inclusiveness in addressing industry issues,” Lazopoulos said.
Industry leaders nominated to serve as chairmen and vice chairmen of the new boards and councils, as well as nominees for open at-large seats, will be announced separately, and will be introduced at the upcoming annual meeting and convention. Following that event, volunteers will be sought for potential nominees to each market segment board.
“As we begin to implement this new structure, United Fresh also owes a great thank you to members who have served on the Business Development Council the past three years, and particularly its chairman Mike Kemp of Save-A-Lot,” said Lazopoulos. “Work previously done by this council will now be channeled into the new market segment boards to ensure that we’re specifically addressing each business segment’s needs. We thank Mike and the Business Development Council team for their work developing our new Cornell Executive Development Program and the Product Recall/Crisis Management course we now are offering around the country. We look forward to working with many of these leaders as members of the new market segment boards,” he said.
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