New Leader Selected by Western Growers
October 22, 2019 
Ag industry veteran Dave Puglia has been named successor to Tom Nassif as the leader of Western Growers.
Photo courtesy of Western Growers
The Western Growers Board of Directors has unanimously selected Dave Puglia as the organization’s next President and Chief Executive Officer. Puglia will succeed current President and CEO Tom Nassif, who will be retiring after 18 years of ag industry leadership, on Feb. 1, 2020.
The organization engaged in an extensive nationwide search to ensure that Western Growers’ leadership would carry forward and grow while continuing to provide innovative business services to the association’s members.
Puglia joined Western Growers in 2005 and currently serves as Executive VP, overseeing four departments in addition to the organization’s non-profit charitable foundation and its political action committees. He also is involved in the internal operations of the organization. Prior to joining Western Growers, he was Vice President of APCO Worldwide, a global public affairs consulting firm, and previously served for seven years in the California Attorney General’s Office, first as Press Secretary and later as Director of Public Affairs and Communications.
Over the course of nearly two decades, Nassif elevated the national prominence of Western Growers and established the organization as a recognized leader in food safety, labor and immigration, water, technology and innovation, international trade, and many other areas impacting the viability of Western Growers members.
“The mentoring and support I have received from Tom Nassif and so many current and past directors has been amazing,” Puglia stated. “My talented and dedicated Western Growers colleagues have also helped propel me on this journey, and there is no better professional staff in the entire agriculture industry. We are ready to go.”
For more details on the announcement, visit https://www.wga.com.
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