CEO has led $16 million-revenue group for nearly three decades; will assist in leadership transition

Vroom

Jay Vroom, CEO of pesticide industry association CropLife America, will retire at the end of 2018 after leading the $16 million-revenue group for three decades.

Vroom announced his upcoming retirement at CLA's annual meeting, which is being held this week in Dana Point, Calif. The long-time association executive first became CEO in 1988 and was re-elected to the position every year after that by CLA's board of directors. He previously had been CEO of the National Fertilizer Solutions Association, now the Agriculture Retailers Association.

"After I retire as CLA CEO, I plan to stay involved in agriculture and work on the critical issues of growing agriculture technology and improving profitability for American farmers," Vroom said in a statement. "I am also looking forward to spending more time on our family farms in Illinois."

Vroom will continue to as CEO during the next twelve months and will assist with the leadership transition through the end of 2018, the association announced. The group plans to hire a search firm to assist in the search for a new CEO but has not announced which firm it is using.