PORTLAND, OR - In this industry, it isn’t enough to simply walk the walk—you’ve got to talk the talk. GLOBALG.A.P. North America has found both of these qualities in its newest hires, naming Antonio Restrepo as Producer Relations Manager and Katy Hladki as Buyer Relations Manager.

“Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to work with the most important people from all around the United States and Latin America—the farmers who work through numerous challenges to provide wholesome safe food while taking care of our planet,” said Restrepo. “I’m passionate about helping producers with their food safety, sustainability, and worker’s health certification efforts, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to continue to provide solutions to even more producers through my new role in GLOBALG.A.P.”

Restrepo will be responsible for growing farm-level adoption of GLOBALG.A.P. solutions among growers in the U.S. and Canada. He previously worked for a large produce supplier for 20 years, helping growers all around the U.S. and Latin America develop and implement their food safety programs. Restrepo has been involved with GLOBALG.A.P.’s USA National Technical Work Group for several years and has been a GLOBALG.A.P. Farmer Assurer since 2018, a press release stated.

In addition to Restrepo, Katy Hladki has entered a new role with the company.

“I am excited to be a part of the team supporting GLOBALG.A.P.’s mission of safe, responsible agriculture worldwide,” said Hladki. “I look forward to engaging with the North American marketplace to help them bring safe and healthy food to their customers.”

Hladki will be working to increase market recognition and acceptance of GLOBALG.A.P. products and services by promoting the range of solutions among buyers in this region. Prior to this role, Hladki accumulated over 10 years of experience working in corporate social responsibility and sustainable food production. The press release noted that she also has a strong background in third-party standards, including development and implementation.

Roberta Anderson, Executive Vice President, commented on the growth of GLOBALG.A.P.’s team.

“With an expanded set of GFSI recognized and FSMA aligned certification programs for farms and packing facilities, we have never been in a better position to serve this market with cost-effective audit solutions for domestic and international market needs,” she said. “We feel very fortunate to have brought on these two passionate professionals to connect directly with more buyers and producers and grow the GLOBALG.A.P. community.”

Three cheers for these two industry up-and-comers!

GLOBALG.A.P. North America