CropLife America announces new Vice President of Government Relations

CropLife America (CLA) announced that Jeff Blackwood has been selected as Vice President of Government Relations (VP of GR). Blackwood joins CLA on May 28, after more than a decade as the policy lead for the agricultural solutions business of BASF Corporation. He brings years of expertise working with Congress, associations, coalitions, and other stakeholder groups on pesticide issues. Prior to BASF, Jeff spent time working in government relations with associations and as a staffer for two senators and a member of Congress. 

″The CLA Board of Directors is pleased to welcome Jeff Blackwood as the next head of government relations at the association,″ said Andy Lee, chairman of the board and president and CEO, Valent North America. ″Jeff’s previous experience will be invaluable as he joins CLA, expands and builds the team, and proactively addresses both opportunities and challenges facing the agricultural industry.″ 

″We look forward to Jeff joining the CLA team,″ said Alexandra Dunn, CLA’s president and CEO. ″His years of engagement across the industry and with staff at CLA will be an asset as we move into this election season and beyond. The expertise he brings will be beneficial as he advocates for the issues important to our members.″

″I am excited to begin my work with CLA members and staff to advocate on behalf of an industry that I’ve spent the better part of my career working in,″ said Blackwood. ″I understand how passionate the members and my new colleagues are about the work they do, and I look forward to becoming a part of the team. CLA has a long history of communicating the importance of pesticides to growers, pesticide professionals, and consumers, and I look forward to contributing to that legacy.″

For this recruitment, CLA partnered with Kincannon & Reed, the largest retained executive search firm focused on agriculture and food clients, to develop a slate of well qualified executive-level candidates.