Earlier this month, the National Mango Board named Manuel Michel to be the next executive director of the marketing and research commodity group. By any measure, he has big shoes to fill.

Michel, who most recently provided regulatory oversight to several federal government commodity programs as a marketing order specialist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Marketing Order & Agreement Division, will become the board’s second executive director, replacing William Watson, who has been the top staff member of the board since its inception almost a decade ago.

Watson is proud of what the mango industry has been able to accomplish and he receives high praise from the industry.   

“On behalf of the entire board, I would like to thank William Watson for his unparalleled contribution to the NMB and dedicated work for the success of the industry,” said Bill Vogel, chairman of the NMB.

Watson came to the board in 2006 soon after it was established. He assembled a staff that built a promotion and research infrastructure, and by 2008 the National Mango Board began an aggressive promotion campaign. Since that time, per-capita consumption has increased tremendously, which has resulted in almost a 50 percent increase in the number of cartons imported and sold in the United States.  

At the same time, the f.o.b. price has risen, creating a crop value that has increased every year and is currently much greater than it was in 2008.  

A 26-year produce industry veteran who has spent much of that time in the commodity promotion arena, Watson said after his NMB run is completed he will “look forward to about 30 days without a cell phone or a laptop and let my brain recharge.” After that however, he does expect to resurface in the industry in a yet-to-be-determined position.  

“I am grateful that it appears as if have several different opportunities,” he said.

He has been approached by individuals and groups looking to establish promotion marketing orders and has also been presented with some non-commodity board offers.

“I want to take some time to flesh those things out, but I am definitely not retiring,” he reiterated.

Watson, who previously ran the National Watermelon Promotion Board and worked in Texas with a couple of industry groups, was especially proud of how the multi-national and multi-cultural National Mango Board was able to accomplish its goals. The organization brings together producers from more than a half-dozen countries with U.S. importers with the goal of increasing U.S. consumption through marketing and research.

The longtime executive director believes the new executive director is well suited for this task.

“Manuel is a unique individual who will bring a new perspective to the task,” said Watson.  

Michel is a child of Mexican immigrants with a first-hand cultural knowledge that mirrors many of the producers of mangos. He has also worked on the promotion and research end from a regulatory perspective, which is extremely important to the functioning of a federal marketing order, such as NMB.

In addition, Michel has food-safety expertise from a previous career that Watson said will be invaluable as mangos join every other food item to navigate the new Food Safety Modernization Act.

Michel started his career at NMB on Sept. 1 and he and Watson will work together for the remainder of the year.  Watson expressed confidence that Michel will be able to continue the good work that has been done for mangos.  

Since the NMB was first established, Watson said he had complete confidence that consumption could be increased.  “I saw it as a commodity with great potential since day one,” he said. “It’s a great-tasting fruit that’s unique. It comes in a variety of colors and it’s fun. It’s just a cool piece of fruit.”

In addition, he said it has a great nutritional story to tell and changing demographics in the United States have created a significant population that has familiarity with mangos.  

While he is happy with how far the industry has come, Watson said there “is always more work to be done” in both the promotion and research arenas.

He quipped that there is one regret he has in leaving this industry: “I wish my Spanish was a little better.”

Just as industry members praised Watson, they expressed confidence that the good work of the board and the staff will continue.  

“I feel confident that Manuel Michel will take this role to the next level and make an important and meaningful impact as he guides the board through the new phases of growth that the mango industry will face in coming years,” said Vogel, the NMB chairman.  

Former NMB member Larry Nienkerk of Splendid Products LLC in Burlingame, CA, was not involved in the selection process of Michel, but mirrored the comments of others in stating that he appeared to be an excellent choice.

“I don’t know the gentleman personally but I am very confident that the committee did an excellent job,” said Nienkerk. “He comes from the regulatory sector and that is a very important part of the job. He seems like an ideal choice.”

Nienkerk also praised the NMB’s efforts under Watson’s tenure, saying, “The main structure is there to continue to increase consumption. I am sure we will continue to get promotional and marketing ideas from the experts outside our industry and I look forward to mango consumption continuing to rise.”