STAMFORD, CT – The American Pet Products Association announced that president and CEO Steve King is retiring as of Dec. 31.
APPA’s board of directors has initiated a nationwide search, with APPA Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Andrew Darmohraj acting as interim CEO, according to a press release.
King joined APPA in 2019 and helped guide the association and the pet care community through the changes resulting from COVID-19.
“As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every sector of the global economy. Our industry has been faced with a number of challenges, but we remained resilient, ultimately resulting in a banner year of sales in 2020 and a positive outlook for 2021 and beyond,” said King. “It has been an absolute honor and pleasure to work alongside some of the best and brightest in the industry during my tenure at APPA. I want to thank the entire team for their hard work during my time with the association and look forward to seeing all that APPA and the pet industry will continue to accomplish together for years to come.”
Prior to APPA, King served as president of the Pet Industry Distributors Association. With PIDA, he was instrumental in the effort to combine the former APPMA Show and PIDA PETS Show to form Global Pet Expo.
“On behalf of the board of directors, I want to extend our sincerest gratitude to Steve for his leadership and commitment to APPA and wish him the best in retirement,” said Chuck Latham, chairman of the APPA board of directors and founder of H&C Animal Health. “We are confident that APPA is well-positioned to find the right candidate who understands the role and value of APPA to the pet care community. We look forward to the next chapter in APPAs long history of growth and success.”
APPA is made up of nearly 1,000 pet product manufacturers, their representatives, importers and livestock suppliers.