Patrick Lehman Joins GMA as Director, Federal Affairs

WASHINGTON – The Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA) yesterday said Patrick Lehman has joined the trade group as its new director of federal affairs. Lehman will focus on a variety of issues, including food safety, appropriations, the security of the food supply, commodity programs, and other areas regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He succeeds Dave Stafford, who left GMA to become a writer at MSNBC.

"Concerns about bioterrorism are still paramount," Lehman told Progressive Grocer. "I anticipate that will remain so.

"The scope of my work is going to be food safety and food security, what portions of the regulatory appropriations process that strike us as relevant and important, and, looking into the future, commodity programs," Lehman continued.

Lehman comes to GMA from Bayer CropScience, where he served as manager of government relations and focused on agricultural biotechnology and crop protection issues. His legislative, regulatory, and international trade experience includes appropriations, product approval, regulatory compliance, product labeling, and multilateral trade agreements. Lehman was selected to represent Bayer AG on the Young Manager's Team of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development in 2004.

"Patrick's understanding of legislation's impact on the food chain will be of great service to GMA's member companies. We believe his experience and knowledge about the regulatory process from seed to table will bring a new dimension to GMA's work with Congress," said GMA c.e.o. and President C. Manly Molpus.

Lehman received a master's degree in European Studies from New York University; a B.A. in history and philosophy from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa.; and studied German and international trade and security in Germany.
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