The Produce Marketing Association Australia-New Zealand (PMA A-NZ) has appointed Nick Fitzpatrick of New Zealand's T&G Global Limited and David Harris of Australia's Harris Farm as its new directors. 

The PMA A-NZ board also nominated Andrew Francey of One Harvest as the new chair, replacing John Said who has been an enthusiastic and dedicated chairman for the last four years.

Joe Craggs of Tropical Pines was named vice chair, while the new CEO Darren Keating replaced Michael Worthington, who retired in November this year.

Andrew Francey, general manager of One Harvest and chair of the board, welcomed the new directors and acknowledged the significant contribution of those stepping down.

"John Said, Managing Director of Fresh Select, has been the PMA A-NZ Chair for four years and has contributed enormously to the development of programs, initiatives and events," Francey said.

"John has been an outstanding Chairman who has given an enormous amount of his time, energy, passion and support to PMA A-NZ and we owe him a significant debt of gratitude."

"I would also like to acknowledge Andrew Keaney, Executive General Manager of T&G Global Limited, who has been a major contributor to our Board proceedings, sitting on a number of Task Forces and Board Committees."

Francey also expressed his gratitude to Nathan Soich, previously the marketing manager of Compac Sort for his time on the PMA A-NZ board in 2016.

"Nathan was only on the board for a short time but his contribution was always incisive and thought-provoking, especially in the area of marketing," he said.

In addition to the volunteers on the Board, there are many volunteers to whom Francey expressed his gratitude, including committee and taskforce volunteers who work alongside PMA A-NZ throughout the year.

"A critical component of the PMA ethos is volunteerism. We would not be able to do what we do without the involvement members on our Board and taskforces," he said.

"I am looking forward to the next 12 months in working with our members across the supply chain to deliver on our Food Safety, Talent, Demand Creation and Networking initiatives.

"We will continue to engage with our members collaboratively, working together to add value and strengthen our industry."

www.freshfruitportal.com