At the Board meeting held at the Queenstown conference, last week, Gary Bennetts stepped down as chairman, but remains as a director for the next three-year term.

Jones was formerly vice chairman of Summerfruit NZ and, as well as growing cherries in Central Otago, he is an exporter and runs New Zealand’s largest cherry packhouse.

Chief executive Marie Dawkins congratulated Jones on his new role and said that she was looking forward to working with him. “The Board has just signed off a new business plan containing some ambitious goals such as becoming a $250 million dollar industry by 2035. Tim has a huge wealth of summerfruit industry experience, energy and vision which will be invaluable as we start aligning our strategic and work plans.”

The Board thanked Gary Bennetts for his dedication and service to the industry during his eight years as chairman.

Photo: Chief executive Marie Dawkins and new chairman Tim Jones with Gary Bennetts at Summerfruit NZ’s conference dinner in Queenstown.