Jan DeLyser Earns PMA’s 2016 Robert L. Carey Leadership Award

Jan DeLyser, VP of marketing for the Irvine, Calif.-based California Avocado Commission, Irvine, was chosen at the 2016 Robert L. Carey Leadership Award recipient, which annually honors an individual who has demonstrated outstanding leadership skills and an exceptional commitment to Produce Marketing Association (PMA) and the produce industry.

DeLyser, has long been active in industry leadership, having served as PMA chair, chair of the Produce for Better Health Foundation Board of Trustees and chair of the Fresh Produce and Floral Council. She has served on the Center for Growing Talent by PMA (CGTbyPMA) Board of Directors; PMA’s former Retail Board; and the Buy California Marketing Agreement Board of Directors.

“More important than the list on a resume, though, are the qualities she has brought to our industry and our association,” said Bruce Taylor, founder and CEO of Taylor Farms, Salinas, Calif., and last year’s award winner. He was one of a panel of five judges who selected DeLyser as this year’s winner and presented her with the award.

DeLyser is a contributing author of Boom: Marketing to the Ultimate Power Consumer—the Baby Boomer Woman, published in 2006. She has served as a visiting professor at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, teaching an upper level Ag Business course on U.S. Food and Agriculture Policy.

Among DeLyser’s leadership qualities, Taylor noted her “collaborative spirit with the ability to listen and drive consensus. She recognizes that everyone at the table has something to contribute, and our solutions are stronger when everyone’s contributions are included.”

Among her many awards, DeLyser was honored in 2014 as a Top Women in Grocery, as well as a Women in Produce Award of Excellence by United Fresh. She has received the Southern California Leadership Award from the Fresh Produce and Floral Council, as well as other numerous industry honors.