American Gaming Association CEO tapped as next leader of food industry group

Freeman

American Gaming Association CEO Geoff Freeman has been named the next CEO of the Grocery Manufacturers Association—a group that has lost several prominent members in recent months amid industry disagreements about how best to respond to changing consumer demands for food products.

Freeman will succeed Pam Bailey, who has led the $37 million-revenue GMA for 10 years. He joined the $14 million-revenue AGA in 2013 and is only the second CEO to have led the group, following Frank Fahrenkopf. Freeman previously was COO of the U.S. Travel Association.

In a statement, Tim Wilmott, chairman of AGA's board of directors, credited Freeman's leadership with several policy successes, including a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that opened the door to expanding legalized sports betting.

"It is a testament to our industry, as well as to Geoff himself, that GMA would look to gaming as a model for managing through dynamic change and complexity to achieve success in both policy and perceptions," Wilmott said.

Freeman will remain at AGA until Aug. 1. When he joins GMA, the CEO will take over an association facing an uncertain future. GMA has seen at least eight high-profile members part ways with the group in recent months, including Kraft Heinz, Nestlé and Campbell Soup. The departures were driven in large part by disagreements about how the industry should respond to changing consumer demands in nutrition and food labeling.

GMA also was fined $18 million by a Washington state court in 2016 for allegedly failing to disclose donors during a campaign to defeat a ballot issue to mandate labels for foods with genetically modified ingredients. The association is appealing the decision.

Freeman earned $1.6 million at AGA in 2016, according to tax records. Bailey earned $1.8 million at GMA during the same time period.

Recruitment firm Spencer Stuart assisted in the GMA search.