Wenatchee, WA – After nearly five years of being a significant member of the CMI Orchards team, Steve Lutz is taking his strong industry knowledge to Produce Marketing Association (PMA). Lutz joined CMI in 2013 as Vice President of Marketing and transitioned to Senior Strategist for the company in 2017, focusing on strategy development, category management and data analysis.
“It has been a true pleasure working with Steve,” said George Harter, Vice President of Marketing. “With the growing volume of successful branded and organic varieties at CMI, Steve helped develop impactful selling solutions and drive category growth for many of our customers. While we still have an exceptionally strong team at CMI, Steve will be greatly missed and we wish him only the best at PMA,” Harter said.
Lutz reflected on his time at CMI and expressed how grateful he was for the opportunity to be part of a successful, vertically integrated operation, working with outstanding retail customers that were so important to CMI’s success. “It’s been my personal and professional pleasure to have the opportunity to work at CMI with some of the very best growers, warehouses, and sales and marketing professionals in the industry,” said Lutz. “I’m extremely proud of the accomplishments of our CMI team including building the #1 selling apple brand in the US, the #1 selling organic apple brand in US, the #1 selling branded apple in America and the best-selling apple and pear pouch bag lineup.”
Prior to joining CMI Orchards, Lutz served as President of the Washington Apple Commission. In 2000, he became a founding partner and Executive Vice President of the Perishables Group, a Chicago-based research firm. Lutz and his partners finalized an agreement to sell the Perishables Group to Nielsen in 2012. At the completion of the sale, Lutz left Nielsen Perishables Group to join CMI Orchards.
“While I’m very excited about this next chapter in my career with the Produce Marketing Association, I will definitely miss working alongside my many friends at CMI,” he said. “I would like to express my thanks and appreciation for a wonderful five years to Bob Mast, Steve Castleman, George Harter, the talented and dedicated marketing team and the entire CMI family.”
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About CMI Orchards
CMI Orchards is one of Washington State’s largest growers, shippers and packers of premium quality apples, pears, cherries, apricots and organics. Based in Wenatchee, WA, CMI Orchards delivers outstanding fruit across the U.S.A. and exports to over 60 countries worldwide.
Source: CMI Orchards
