American Frozen Food Institute Names Kraig R. Naasz President and CEO

The American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) announced the selection of Kraig R. Naasz as its new president and CEO.  Naasz will take leadership of the organization on February 1.   Naasz currently serves as senior advisor to Washington² Advocates, a government affairs, communications and strategic consulting company with offices in Washington, D.C., and Bellevue, Wash.  Naasz previously served as president and CEO of the National Mining Association, where he secured enactment of the first major reform of the nation’s mine safety laws in over 30 years and aided the mining industry in achieving its safest year ever in 2008. Naasz’s prior experience also includes service as president of The Fertilizer Institute, where he directed the industry’s efforts to address security concerns stemming from the Oklahoma City bombing; and as president and CEO of the U.S. Apple Association, where he garnered over $550 million in federal assistance for financially-strapped apple growers and processors.  Earlier in his career, Naasz also worked as vice president of the Northwest Horticultural Council and as an aid to former U.S. Senators Slade Gorton and Daniel J. Evans, as well as Congressmen Sid Morrison and Rod Chandler and the House Committee on Agriculture. An active member of several key groups that advocate for business in the nation’s capital, Naasz is a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Association Committee of 100 and the Business-Industry Political Action Committee (BIPAC).  He also belongs to the American Society of Association Executive’s Key Industry Associations Committee, chairs the National Energy Foundation and is a director of the U.S. Energy Association. The American Frozen Food Institute is the national trade association promoting and representing the interests of all segments of the frozen food industry.  AFFI works to foster industry development and growth, and advocates before legislative and regulatory entities on the industry’s behalf.  For more information, please visit our website at www.affi.com.