The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) has announced that Geoff Freeman will become the organization’s new president and chief executive officer effective August 1, according to a GMA press release on Tuesday.Freeman is president and CEO of the American Gaming Association (AGA), the trade association for the U.S. casino gaming industry.
Freeman’s selection comes after a comprehensive search following the February announcement by Pamela G. Bailey of her intent to retire after nearly 10 years as GMA’s president and CEO. Freeman will work with Bailey, GMA’s senior team and its board of directors over the next two months to ensure a smooth transition of leadership.
In his five years leading the AGA, Freeman modernized the association and built the membership, created consensus on key issues, shifted perceptions in Washington and on main street and achieved significant advocacy victories, according to the press release. Most notably, the AGA drove the campaign to declare the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) unconstitutional, paving the way for legalized sports betting nationwide. Freeman was previously Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Travel Association, where he successfully campaigned to enact the Travel Promotion Act, creating $200 million in funding annually to promote tourism to the United States, and paved the way for the creation of the TSA PreCheck program.
