Dana Thomas, the longtime chief executive officer of Index Fresh, intends to retire in 2020. The board of directors is embarking on a search for a new CEO.

John Grether, chairman of the board, praised the leadership of Thomas over the nearly 24 years he has been its CEO. “Dana joined Index as its CEO in 1996 when it was a cooperative, successfully led it through a conversion to a for-profit enterprise and managed the business as its stock has steadily increased in value.”

Grether also noted that Thomas has been instrumental in assembling an outstanding staff and executive team, providing Index’s California growers with excellent returns, delivering consistently strong dividends to shareholders, developing partnerships with the country’s leading retail and food service providers, significantly growing the company’s market share, maintaining the highest ethical standards in the industry, and positioning Index Fresh as an industry leader.

Index Fresh owns and manages packinghouses in Bloomington, CA, and Pharr, TX, and sources fruit from its California grower-base, as well as from Mexico, Chile, Colombia, and Peru. Index Fresh markets Hass and GEM avocados throughout the United States and Canada, and to select markets in Asia. Index Fresh has engaged Jeff Hodge and Neil Sims of Boyden to manage the search.