The Chilean Fresh Fruit Association (CFFA) has announced in a press release that produce industry veteran Tom Tjerandsen is retiring from his position as North American managing director at the organisation.
In his place, Karen Brux has been appointed to lead CFFA’s marketing efforts in the US and Canada where she will oversee all of association’s promotional and support programmes.
To carry out her role, Brux will open a new office in the mid-Peninsula area, south of San Francisco, and begin her new duties on 1 January 2013.
“We are delighted to find someone whose background and talents so closely match the needs of the Chilean fresh fruit industry,” explained Ronald Bown, chairman of the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association (Asoex).
“We appreciate Tom Tjerandsen’s many contributions to the Chilean fresh fruit program. Tom has been a crucial part of the trade development between Chile and the US fruit industry, we will be forever indebted to his loyal work and will be truly missed. We wish him well with the next phase of his life.”
Brux joins CFFA following her post as vice-president of marketing communications for the California Table Grape Commission, where she was responsible for domestic consumer communication and global brand management in support of California’s table grape producers.
Prior to her tenure at the Commission, Brux held senior executive positions with Zespri International for more than 15 years, during which she managed distributors, agencies and numerous consultants in development of integrated trade and consumer marketing campaigns.
Chile is the Southern Hemisphere’s largest producer of fresh fruit and CFFA is a promotional group representing Asoex and the Chilean Fruit Growers Federation (Fedefruta).
