A few minutes with Tom Nassif – President & CEO of Western Growers

The sun is setting on Tom’s wonderful 17 years at the helm of the Western Growers where Paul, Claire and Mick stole a few minutes of Tom’s time.

About 40 years ago, Nassif, as a self-described “young hippie lawyer,” helped initiate a successful lawsuit against United Farmworkers of America over its strike against Imperial Valley vegetable growers that turned violent. From labor attorney, Nassif joined the Reagan administration as deputy chief of protocol at the White House for the state department. He was deputy assistant secretary of state and ambassador to Morocco before returning to the private sector.

Tom Nassif took the leadership reins of Western Growers in February, 2002. His broad and distinguished leadership experience, along with his background as a labor attorney for the agricultural industry, made the former U.S. ambassador a natural choice to lead the fresh produce industry into a new era.  Through coalition building and an aggressive approach of addressing the key issues confronting the industry, Tom has taken Western Growers to a new level of prominence and influence.

Said Tom, “The three main issues currently facing the industry are labor, water and food safety.”

Dave Puglia, executive vice president of Western Growers in Irvine, California, has been named new president and CEO, succeeding Tom Nassif, who will retire the 1st February.

Prophet thank Tom for his excellent service and wish him well for the future.

Mick Heatherington, Claire Powell and Tom Nassif