NEWARK, Del. -- Elizabeth Pivonka has been named the new president of the Produce for Better Health Foundation, taking the torch from Mike Gretz, who left the post Dec. 31.
ber, officials at the foundation said they would be conducting an executive search to find his replacement, and had planned for Pivonka to take the helm in the interim.
But then the plan was changed. "The executive committee considered conducting an executive search to fill this vacancy," said Dave Eldredge, PBH chairman, in a statement. "However, once we met, and reviewed the strategic plan, we realized that we had the perfect candidate in front of us.
"Elizabeth has the vision to launch us into the 21st century, and her experience in helping craft our strategic plan means she completely understands our direction and focus."
"We'd love to see more support from the industry and from other areas," Pivonka said in a statement. "I'm committed to getting PBH the support it needs to meet our goals. I look forward to continuing to work with this dynamic industry, and together, we can improve the health of Americans -- which goes hand in hand with increased fruit and vegetable sales."
Gretz left PBH to become a managing partner with U.S. Marketing Services, a Sonoma, Calif., marketing group that specializes in produce.
